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A 



JOHN PAUL JONES 



John Paul Jones 

Of Naval Fame 
A Character of the Revolution 



By Charles Walter Brown 

Author of "Nathan Hale," "Paul Revere," "Ethan Allen," "Count 
Pulaski." "La Fayette," Etc.. Etc. 



"The Flag- and I are tivins. Born the same hour -we 
cannot be farted in life or death. So long as we can Jloat 
ive shall Jloat to£rethcr.^''—Vii.VL Jones. 



H 



ILLUSTRATED 



Chicago 

M. A. DONOHUE & CO. 

407-429 Dearborn St. 



o 



t 



THE LIBRARY OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two CoptEe Rbceived 

JUN. 2 1902 

COPVT»IOHT ENTRY 

CLASS <2^XXc No. 
COPY B. 



Copyright 1902 

M. A. DONOHUE & CO. 



A. DONOHUE A CO,, PRINTERS AND BIMDERS, CHICAQO. 



TO MY FATHER 

ISAAC HINTOlSr BEOWN 

(1842-1889) 

WHO 

DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 

DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF AS AN OFFICER 

IN THE NAVY OF HIS COUNTRY 

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED 



/ 



5'> 



CONTENTS 



chapter pagb 
Introduction 9 

I. Early Life of John Paul 13 

II. Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia 23 

III. In the Service of the United States 89 

IV. The Org-anization of the Navy 51 

V. Goes to Europe 71 

VI. In Command of the Bon Homme Richard 94 

VII. Operations on the British Coast 115 

VIII. The Capture of the Serapis 136 

IX. Ordered to Leave Amsterdam 141 

X. In France — Sails for America 157 

XI. In America — The Birth of a Nation 170 

XII. Leaves America — Enters the Russian Navy 193 

XIII. In Paris 213 

feiy^ Death of John Paul Jones 225 

XV. Estimates of His Character 233 

XVI. Correspondence, Will 239 

7 



Insulted freedom bled; I felt her cause, 
And drew my sword to vindicate her laws 
From principle, and not from vain applause. 
I've done my best; self-interest far apart, 
And self-reproach a stranger to my heart. 
My zeal still prompt, ambition to pursue 
The foe, ye fair! of liberty and you; 
Grateful for praise, spontaneous and unbought , 
A generous people's love not meanly sought; 
To merit this, and bend the knee to beauty, 
Shall be my earliest and latest duty. 

— John Paul Jones. 



INTRODUCTION. 

American history gleams with the brilliant achieve- 
ments of her adopted sons. No historian ever wearies 
in telling of the glorious deeds and self-sacrifices of 
La Fayette, De Kalb, Pulaski, Kosciuszko, De Grasse, 
Eochambcau, Steuben, St. Clair and D'Estaing, whose 
deeds of heroism, great privations and unceasing devo- 
tion to the cause of liberty will never be forgotten by 
their countr^anen on this side of the Atlantic. 

Of all the revolutionary patriots, however, who 
crossed the ocean to offer their fortunes, and their lives 
if necessary, that the spirit of freedom might not 
perish from the face of the earth, there is no name 
deserving of higher veneration than that of John Paul 
Jones, and while his name and office is familiar to 
millions of the youth of our land, yet it is a lamentable 
fact that many of them know scarcely anything of the 
early history, the trials and disappointments he ex- 
perienced in the organization of the American Navy, 
or the last years of the life of this remarkable man. 

Republics are not ungrateful, nor has the United 
States been unmindful of the valiant services of her 
alien sons. In America, we do not manifest our ap- 
preciation of gallantry by some gaudy decoration at 
the hands of our citizen ruler. We have no euphoni- 
ous titles to confer and no flaring bawbles with which 
to decorate our patriots. "I prefer a solid to a shining 



10 Introduction. 

reputation, a useful to a splendid command/' was the 
only favor the Congress could bestow on Captain Jones ; 
but even though the latter was denied him, his reward 
has been ample. — magnanimous as were his services. 

The everlasting gratitude of admiring millions of 
American freemen should be, and is, a sufficient recog- 
nition even for the greatest sacrifice. Nathan Hale 
regretted that he had but one life to give to his coun- 
try, and he gave even that without hope or expectation 
of reward, or that his name would live in the hearts of 
his compatriots even until the close of the struggle that 
meant liberty or greater enslavement to those who sur- 
vived. 

So it was with Paul Jones; this same feeling mani- 
fested itself in his every thought, word and action. It 
was his' constant desire "to go in harm's way," and the 
heart burnings of this brave man can readily be 
imagined when we read in subsequent chapters of the 
trials and disappointments he endured until the end of 
the war, when his services were no longer required and 
he returned over the seas to fight oppression under 
other flags than ours. 

Though dissensions arose continually that caused 
him much apprehension as to the appreciation in which 
his services were held, yet he had the fortitude and 
great good sense to submit to the commands of his 
superiors and ask the Congress to sit in judgment 
concerning his conduct, while never for a moment per- 
mitting the service or the cause for which he was fight- 
ing to suffer by any word or act or neglect of his. Even 
if Captain Jones had not been the leading spirit in the 



Introduction. 11 

formation of our navy — even if he had not worked 
miracles in naval warfare, the Congress was not jealous 
of his successes, but rather proud of his achievements, 
and showed its appreciation by never restricting liis 
operations, nor criticising his plans, either before or 
after an engagement. Congress realized that if ever 
the yoke of British tyranny was to be throvm off and 
the Colonies let loose from the fetters that bound them 
to the despotism of George the Third, that time had 
come, and neither Washington, nor the Marine Com- 
mittee, nor the Congress would permit petty jealousies 
to affect the greatest good possible in the navy or in the 
army of the Eepublic. 

Captain Jones' active participation in the revolt of 
the American Colonies, when even the slightest mani- 
festation of sympathy was appreciated by Wa?-hington 
and the Congress, justifies the many memorials that 
have appeared, and though the story of his adventures 
has many times been told, each attempt only adds re- 
newed interest and brings to light new facts in the life 
of this romantic character in his unselfish devotion to 
the "cause of freedom and the rights of man." 

The purpose of this book is to deal largely with the 
incidents in the life of Paul Jones so far as they have 
helped to make the naval history of our country and to 
show how intimately associated is his name with that 
which we prize above all else in this world — Liberty; 
yet it would be hard to tell the story of this courageous 
man if no mention was made of his adventures under 
other flags than, ours and in other parts of the world. 
It is therefore essential to the completion of this nana- 



12 Introduction. 

tive that brief mention be made of his whole naval 
career, whether under the banner of America, France 
or Russia, and though his life after his entrance into 
the Russian navy loses its direct importance to us, the 
well-wishes of four million grateful freemen followed 
him across the ocean to his native shores and bid him 
God-speed in his assault on tyranny wherever found. 



JOHN PAUL JONES OF NAVAL FAME 

CHAPTER I. 

EARLY LIFE OF JOHN PAUL. 

Arbigland wa^ the iname of a large private estate 
bordering on the shores of the Solway in the South of 
Scotland. Its owner, Mr. John Craik, member of Par- 
liament from Galloway, was of noble ancestry, being a 
lineal descendant of the Earl of Argyll, and from whom 
he had inherited much of his vast landed possessions. 
A great number of tenants were required to care for so 
many thousands of cultivated acres, yet in all this vast 
domain, where the controlling power was centered in 
one man whose authority was absolute, there was no 
murmuring, no complaining among the tenantry. They 
were universally happy, prosperous and contented. 

We do not wonder, then, that when John Paul, of 
Leith, but formerly of Fifeshire, went very early in life 
to be bound a gardener's apprentice to Mr. Craik, that 
he rejoiced at his good fortune in finding so kind and 
generous a master, for at that time an apprenticeship 
more often meant a period of servitude, with the inn 
fliction of inexpressible cruelties for the slightest diso-' 
bedience. At Arbigland there were no cruel overseers; ? 
every infraction of established rules came before Mr. f 
Craik, who disposed of each case in a manner befitting 



14 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

the offense — the severest punishment being dismissal 
from his service. 
,■ The occupation of a gardener on a large estate was 
^ similar to that of an overseer or landscape artist of to- 
day, and it should be understood that such a position is 
given only to one who is especially adapted for the 
work, which in all cases must be an intelligent man, 
better educated than the common operative mechanic 
in ordinary handicraft. Such a man must have been 
John Paul, for after his term of apprenticeship had 
expired his master "set aside a portion of the estate as ' 
a permanent home for his faithful servant and his im- 
mediate family after his death," which occurred about 
the year 1763. 

The Craik Mansion of Arbigland stands about a 
quarter of a mile from the shore, and a little farther^ 
west on the same gentle sloping promontory still stands / 
the self-same cottage in which young Paul was born. 
The present condition of the house is little changed 
from what it was three-quarters of a century ago, when 
an account of the surroundings, from which the fol- 
lowing is an extract, appeared in the Dumfries' Courier 
of July 30, 1834. Lieutenant A. B. Pinkham, of the 
American Navy, had just donated from his own purse 
a princely sum for the purchase and maintenance of the 
cottage, and had erected a small monument "to the 
memory of Paul Jones as a slight token of esteem in 
which his name is held by his American benefactors : 

"The site of the cottage is a glade in a thriving wood, 
on the shores of the Solway, with a green in front, fan- 
cifully railed in, and tastefullv ornamented with ever- 



Early Life of Jolin Paul. 15 

green flowers and flowering shrnbs. Inside and out, it 
is a trim cottage and may vie with similar buildings in 
England, and, as the walls are whitened annually with 
the finest lime, it is become a sort of landmark to nearly 
every sail that enters the Solway. The widow of a fish- 
erman, who died under highly distressing circumstances, 
and who owed much to the humanity of Mr. Craik, 
tenants it rent free, and will probably close her eyes 
under its honored roof, and as this fact is generally 
known, almost every tar, in passing the spot, doffs his 
bonnet in token of gratitude, and says ^God bless the 
kind Lieutenant Pinkham/ " 

The work of constructing reservoirs, fountains, build- 
ing lakes, laying out the drives, gardens, walks, lawns, 
flower-beds, and the planting of trees, that to this day 
iembellish the grand old estate, was entrusted to the 
care of John Paul, and after the lapse of nearly two 
hundred years, it is said that there is no park in all 
Scotland that shows the skill of a landscape gardener 
more than that of Arbigland of Kirkcudbright (Kir- 
koo-bre). The natural beauty of the estate was greatly 
enhanced by the dark mountain ranges stretching away 
toward the north, and, as if in contrast to the sombre 
mountain colors, the bright blue waters of Solway Frith 
and the green fields of Cumberland in the North of 
England, lent gladness to the scenes in the south, while 
in the remote distance, marking the eastern end of the 
estuary, rise the majestic summits of Helvellyn, Skid- 
dow and the Saddleback in the hills of Cheviot. The 
towering granite shaft of Crippel still stands, like a 
lone sentinel on the north shore, and away in the east, 



16 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

beyond the sliinin<? Frith the waters of the Esk freshen 
those of the Solway. The wide sweeping lawns and 
avenues of poplar, elm, maple and birch that overshadow 
the walks and drives that led down to the sea at the 
foot of the lawn, were the pride and constant care of the 
overseer — John Paul. 

Shortly after entering the employ of Mr. Craik, Paul 
married Jean Macduff, the daughter of a poor but indus- 
trious farmer in the neighboring parish of New Abbey. 
The ^lacduifs were a respectable rural clan, and some 
of them had been small landed proprietors in the parish 
of Kirkbean for many generations. Of this marriage 
seven children came to bless the union. The first born 
was William Paul, who came to America early in life, 
and finally settled near Fredericksburg, Virginia, close 
by the Ecippahannock, where he died about the year 
1773, leaving a small estate, but no family to inherit 
the fruits of his labors. The next three were girls — 
Elizabeth, Janet and Mary Ann, while two others, one 
boy and a girl, died in infancy. Elizabeth never mar- 
ried; Janet married Mr. Taylor, a watchmaker in Dum- 
fries, and Mary Ann was twice married, first to a Mr. 
Young and after his death to a Mr. Louden. 

On the 6th of July, 17-47, another son was born to 
John and Jean Paul, and they named him after his 
father — John Paul. His youth was passed very much 
after the way of other boys who are fortunate in being 
born in the country. When old enough he attended 
the parish school at Kirkbean, spending much of his 
time scaling the cliffs and rocky promontories along his 
native coasts — watching the ships and fishing smacks 



Early Life of John Paul. 17 

going to and fro on the broad expanse of sea, or talk- 
ing with the mariners and seafaring men who fre- 
quented all parts of the globe. 

Though there were no large seaports on the shores 
of Solway Frith, yet vessels ascended the river Nith to 
Dumfries, and considerable coast trade was carried on 
along the Irish Sea. Trade was quite brisk between 
Kirkbean and Liverpool and the fishing smacks dotted 
the horizon in all directions. When the tides came in, 
or the storm tossed waters laved the rock-bound shores 
of Galloway and overflowed the meadows that border 
the seas in Cumberland, large ships came to anchor 
in the land-locked harbor below Arbigland. 

In the days of the highland elans when the whole 
of Scotland was divided into almost numberless tribes, 
Kirkcudbright was known as Galloway and for an 
hundred miles this picturesque bit of land bounded 
Solway Frith on the north. This deep inlet from the 
Irish Sea, separating England from Scotland, was no 
barrier to the brave mariners who made their homes 
along its hospitable shores. Returning from a year's 
voyage to distant parts of the world, how pleasant must 
have seemed to them the green meadows in Britain, the 
hills of Cheviot, or the northern mountains that shel- 
tered Bruce and Wallace, giving us Ben Lomond with 
its wealth of song and poetry? 

Though Scotland lost its independence forty years 
before, it was only.. the year preceding the birth of the 
younger Paul that the last independent office, the Scot- 
tish Secretary of State at London, was abolished. We 
do not wonder then that the birth of Paul Jones, or 



18 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Jolm Paul, as we yet know him-Vassociated so closely 
with the loss of Scottish independence— left its im- 
press upon his youthful mind and caused him some 
years after he had taken up his residence in Virginia 
to write to his friend Baron Vander Capellan at Am- 
sterdam : 

"I was born in Britain, but I do not inherit the de- 
generate spirit of that fallen nation, which I at once 
lament and despise. It is far beneath me to reply to 
their hireling invectives. They are strangers to the in- 
ward approbation that greatly animates and rewards 
the man who draws his sword only in support of the 
dignity of freedom. America has been the country of 
my fond election from the age of thirteen, when I first 
saw it. I had the honor to hoist, with my own hands, 
the flag of freedom the first time it was displayed on 
the Delaware, and I have attended it with veneration 
ever since on the ocean." 

The education which young Paul received at the par- 
^ ish school of Kirkbean, must have terminated after he 
went to sea. His subsequent acquirements — and they 
were considerable — were the fruits of private study and 
of such casual opportunities as in boyhood he had the 
forethought to improve as often as his ship arrived in 
port. 

N^ Among the numerous unfounded slanders and rumors 
Nof which this brave and often misrepresented man has 
been the subject, is the assertion that he ran off to sea 
against the will of his parents. Even this transgres- 
sion, however, might have been atoned by his after life ; 
but there was no foundation for such belief. His in- 



Early Life of John Paul. 19 

clination for the bold and hardy mode of life which 
he adopted, appears, as it often does in boyhood, to 
have been a strong passion, fostered by his childish 
pastimes, and encouraged by much that he saw and 
heard in his daily intercourse with ships and seamen 
along the shores of the Solway. 

It is also observed that his regard for America, and 
his willingness "to descend with fire and sword," in 
her cause, upon the shores of his native land, which 
were thought unnatural, may have had their origin in 
the conversations he had with the mariners from the 
discontented colonies in America. 

In after times, when the name of Paul Jones became 
the subject of historical interest, an effort was made to 
assign to him. what was thought a nobler origin, as the 
natural son of the Earl of Selkirk, or of Mr. Craik. 
As if the brand of illegitimacy, and the stigma on a 
mother's fame, would be more than compensated by 
an association with noble names, or a sinister descent 
from a Scottish earl or from a "bonnet laird" best 
known to fame by the fact of our hero being the son 
of his gardener, would be a more fitting introduction to 
a career of glory than birth in honorable wedlock, of 
humble but honest parents. These calumnies, though 
intended for commendations, were falsified by the un- 
sullied character of the wife of John Paul, and by the 
happiness of their union. 

' These weak inventions have long since been exploded, 
though preserved in the pages of fanciful novelists and 
scattering accounts in the remote parts of England. In 
answer to an inquiry of Baron Vander Capellan in 



20 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

1779, Jones says with respect to his parentage: "1 
never had any obligation to Lord Selkirk, except for his 
good opinion, nor does he know me or mine, except by 
character." This is further verified by the correspond- 
ence which we shall have occasion to introduce as our 
narrative proceeds. 

Thus, early in life, before most boys have laid aside 
their childish toys, or given one thought to the stern 
realities of life, we find young Paul already engaged in 
laying the foundation for his life's work. His knowl- 
edge of geography, of the customs and the habits of the 
people w^ho inhabited all parts of the earth's surface, 
were as well understood by him at the age of ten years 
as was expected of one twice his age. He lost no oppor- 
tunity of acquiring information pertaining to America 
and its people, not merely because his brother William had 
made his home here, but because he had early formed a 
hatred for England on account of her treatment of his 
ancestors, who, like the Americans, had long contended 
for their independence. He resolved to cross the ocean, 
and when old enough he would return to England in a 
great ship and destroy her commerce, lay ransom to her 
coast cities, burn the shipping in her harbors, and in a 
hundred ways spread alarm and disaster and ruin every- 
where throughout Britain. Such were the dreams, the 
ambitions, the hopes of this young Scotchman, and 
with what determination did he adhere to his youthful 
resolve we shall see in subsequent chapters. 

Thus the scenes and incidents that so early engaged 
his attentions, which we can well imagine took pos- 
session of his entire being, displeased his parents very 



Early life of John Paul. 21 

much, for their judgment and ambitions were to have 
their youngest son remain -at home and follow the pro- 
fession of a tradesman or artisan, instead of going off- 
to the colonies — India, America, Australia — as was the 
custom with young men in those days. His associations 
and frequent visits to the village harbor only intensified 
his longings for the sea. He had fully determined upon 
the course he would pursue; he chose the following of 
the sea at first, he said, for adventure and profit, but 
afterward as a profession and a home which only the 
freedom of the sea, he thought, could afford him. 

In the traditions of his family, young Paul is de- 
scribed as launching, while a mere child, his mimic 
ship ; hoisting his flag and issuing his miandates to his 
imaginary crew with all the firmness and dignity of 
one born to lead and command his fellows. 

Again, he was wont to repeat among his playmates, 
mustered on the shores of some little inlet and each 
with his mimic bark, ^while he himself, perched on a 
rocky eminence, various, "make believe" orders, in imi- 
tation of the mariners. At other times, he passed his 
days alone, sometimes along the coasts, at other times 
constructing and launching his toy ships in the little ■ 
brook that flowed by the north meadow, but which is 
now dry save in the rainy seasons. 

Thus we see that whether man or boy, John Paul was 
not moulded in the stamp of character which shrinks 
from facing what he once firmly resolved to do. So 
constituted was he that whatever seemed his duty, he 
let no excuse or obstacle arise to thwart the accomplish- 
ment of his set purpose. 



22 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

A sailor's life, with all of its attending hardships and 
varying fortunes, was his decided choice, and we can 
well imagine with what heart burnings and great re- 
luctance he was sent by his father across the Solv/ay and 
bound apprentice to a Mr. Younger, of Whitehaven, in 
Cumberland. As his father had served an apprentice- 
ship, so young Paul was bound out to service — to a life 
on the seas — at the tender age of twelve years. 



CHAPTER II. 

GOES TO SEA — SETTLES IN VIRGINIA. 

John Paul was not yet thirteen years of age when 
he first saw America. His initial voyage was made in 
the brigantine Friendship^, Captain John Benson com- 
manding, which sailed from Whitehaven early in the 
spring of 1760, bound for Jamaica by the way of Vir- 
ginia. The vessel ascended the Rappahannock as far 
as Fredericksburg, in order to obtain such supplies and 
make such repairs as was required after an eventful 
voyage in which the brig had several times become dis- 
abled owing to the unusually rough seas which were 
not unexpected at this season of the year. A collision 
with an iceberg which almost capsized the ship; one 
whole week passed in plowing through tempestuous seas 
in the face of a blinding storm of hail, sleet and snow 
alternately; two weeks aground on the banks of New- 
foundland; a week becalmed in mid- Atlantic — these 
and numberless other causes added to the discomfiture 
of the crew; but the complete exhaustion of both pro- 
visions and water gave them greater anxiety than any 
of their other troubles. We can imagine the rejoicing 
on board the Friendship when it came to anchor in 
the beautiful inlet of Carter's Creek, on the north shore 
of the Rappahannock, a few miles above its junction 
with the Chesapeake. Had the vessel been delayed a 

83 



24 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

few days longer, the pangs of hunger and of thirst 
wouhl doubtless have driven many of the poor fellows 
to acts of desperation. 

It was now almost mid-summer. The balmy airs 
from the ocean, mingling with a gentle west wind, re- 
dolent with the perfumes of a dense semi-tropical foli- 
age and the music from a thousand feathered songsters 
— all amid a landscape such as young Paul had never 
beheld — must have seemed to him a wonderful contrast 
to the caprices of nature he had just experienced out 
on the Atlantic. His introduction to America could 
not have been under more favorable auspices if he could 
forget the trying experiences of that long and distress- 
ing sea-voyage. 

When the vessel left Whitehaven, Paul had no inten- 
tion of remaining in America longer than was required 
to reprovision the ship and make such repairs as might 
be found necessary after a three-thousand mile cruise, 
but after the experience he had just gone through in 
his first long sea-voyage, and the lasting impression the 
first view of America made upon his youthful mind, he 
prevailed upon the captain to allow him to remain with 
his brother until the return of the Friendship from its 
voyage to the West Indies. After receiving such sup- 
plies as were absolutely required, the Friendship con- 
tinued its voyage up the Eappahannock as far as the 
City of Fredericksburg, near which, we remember, is 
buried Mary Ball Washington, the mother of our first 
President. N'ot far distant was also the home of Paul's 
elder brother William, who had married and settled 
upon an estate of some two or three hundred acres. 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 25 

Much importance attaches to this old homestead, for it 
was here just one hundred and two years later that the 
army of the south met the army of the north and sev- 
enteen thousand men died for the cause they believed 
was right. Though the dwellings and orchards were 
completely demolished by the fierce cannonading and 
musketry, evidences still exist of the ambitious efforts 
of its former owner to build on the banks of the Rap- 
pahannock what his father's master had on the shores 
of the Solway. 

It was here that young Paul came immediately upon 
the arrival of the ship at Fredericksburg. We can 
scarcely imagine the joy that the meeting of the two 
brothers for the first time occasioned. The sudden ap- 
pearance in this far off country of one who was not 
yet born when the elder Paul left his old home in the 
highlands, and coming as he did unheralded and with- 
out giving the slightest intimation of his intended 
visit, the meeting must have been at once romantic and 
affecting. Under a sky as blue as ever shone above the 
Bay of I^aples, with a west wind as balmy as the breezes 
that sweep the plains of Tuscany, resonant with the 
songs of birds and the murmuring of the swiftly flow- 
ing waters of the Rappahannock — it was here the broth- 
ers met, and the impression formed, stamped itself so 
deeply on the mind of the youthful adventurer that 
years after he wrote in memory of the event : "America 
has been the country of my fond election from the age 
of thirteen when I first saw it." 

In a few days the novelty of his new surroundings 
and the effects of that long and harrowing sea-voyage 



26 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

had worn off. Being a close observer he was quick to 
comprehend his new environments, and he was not 
backward in accepting their responsibilities. He saw 
his brother, who was without culture or learning, hon- 
ored and respected among his neighbors, even as Mr. 
Craik was in the parish of Kirkbean. He observed the 
■carriages as they went by, that they bore no coat-of- 
arms; the occupants had not the air of the well-fed, 
well-groomed English aristocrat; but on the other 
hand, the haughty demeanor — if there was any — was 
that of one conscious of the fact that he was as good 
as his neighbor, that he bowed to no man because of 
rank or station, for here, there was neither. All men 
in America were equal. Freedom was no longer to him 
a myth. The spirit, born in restraint, had burst its 
bounds and an inordinate ambition such as only those 
who have felt the fetters can know, took possession of 
mind, body and soul of this young Scotchman. 

In his youthful hours of reverie he had resolved to 
humble the pride of boastful Britain, by attacking, sin- 
gle handed if need be, her invincible navy, her imperial 
cities by the sea, and her maritime commerce that en- 
compassed the globe. If the spirit of revenge for the 
wrongs he believed his ancestors had suffered was strong 
enough to cause him to make so dire a threat while 
yet a British subject, what must have been the feelings 
which stirred his soul when he saw three thousand 
miles of ocean rolling between him and his native 
shores, hated and despised because of her spirit of dom- 
ination — to rule or ruin? 

John Paul was yet a mere boy, a lad of less than 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 27 

a dozen years, when he began to harbor these bitter 
feelings of revenge. The more he thought of the 
wrongs and persecutions heaped upon his defenseless 
ancestors, the greater became his hatred of King George 
and the Home Government that ruled her dependencies 
with a despotism second only to that of the Czar of 
Kussia. But the hour had not yet come when the 
colonies in America (single or united) felt strong 
enough to declare themselves free and independent, 
capable of battling with the intricate problems that 
daily confront nations and states. 

Though young Paul had renounced his allegiance to 
Great Britain he still cherished a strong love for his 
oppressed countrymen struggling under the yoke of 
British tyranny. Having once tasted the sweets of 
freedom — freedom born of security through distance 
from the oppressor, he resolved never to lose a moment 
in preparing himself for a life on the seas, so that 
should the time ever come when occasion demanded his 
services, he would be prepared to command not only 
one ship, but a dozen — a fleet of a hundred vessels. 

Diligently he pursued the fascinating studies of navi- 
gation and mathematics; geography, history, German, 
French, Spanish and a general improvemxcnt of his Eng- 
lish composition occupied every moment of his spare 
time. To become a great and successful navigator or 
naval commander he realized the importance of pos- 
sessing every accomplishment. To be able to speak the 
various languages would render him independent of in- 
terpreters, he reasoned, and years afterward, these sev- 
eral attainments stood him in good stead, for when his 



28 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

crews were made up of the ignorant, one language, rab- 
ble of every country in Europe, he commanded respect 
and a fair measure of subordination by addressing each 
man in his own tongue. While living in the foreign 
capitals — Paris, Copenhagen, St. Petersburg, Constan- 
tinople — he found favor with the court officials because 
he spoke the language and entered into their life and 
customs with the spirit of native grace and dignity. 

But to return to the Friendship and her motley crew 
of adventurers; after a month or so spent in Vir- 
ginia she departed on her voyage to the West Indies. 
Some months were spent in cruising from island to 
island gathering a cargo of slaves, grain and tropical 
fruits, after which she sailed for England, where she 
arrived late in the fall of 1760. When Mr. Younger 
learned of Paul's determination to temporarily retire 
from his service, he was naturally very much disap- 
pointed; but Paul had written him setting forth his 
aims and hopes and concluded by saying that he would 
re-enter his employ when the Friendship or any other 
vessel belonging to him arrived in Virginia. Mr. 
Younger replied that he would send no more vessels 
to America, as the slave trade was no longer profitable 
and the demand for slaves was growing less and less 
each year. 

During the short time Paul had been in his employ 
at Whitehaven, his good conduct, intelligence and ab- 
sorbing interest in his chosen profession, had procured 
for him Mr. Younger's lasting friendship, as well as 
his future favor and protection. Mr. Younger owned 
several vessels employed in the American trade and 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 29 

though he was engaged largely in the slave traffic he 
was a kind and liberal master to the unfortunate crea- 
tures in which he bartered, as well as to Paul, whom 
he had come to look upon as his future partner and 
representative in America. From the embarrassment 
of his own affairs the following spring, however, Mr. 
Younger was unable to fulfil these promises, but in re- 
leasing Paul from his unexpired term of apprenticeship 
he did all that he could then perform. 

Late in the summer of 1763 there came to anchor 
in the Eappahannock, just below Fredericksburg, the 
King George of Whitehaven, a staunch brig of three 
sails and topmast, with a crew of sixty-five men and 
officers. More out of curiosity than in anticipation of 
future employment young Paul visited the ship in com- 
pany with his brother William. He was surprised to 
see on board the vessel many of the men who had com- 
posed the Friendship's crew three years before. Upon 
learning his name the captain produced a letter ad- 
dressed to "John Paul, Esquire, Virginia in America." 
The letter acquainted him of the health of Mr. Younger, 
who had expressed great solicitude for Paul's health 
and happiness. The captain was authorized, the writer 
said, to tender Paul the post of third mate, which offer 
was made through the good offices of Mr. Younger. 

Paul had long been waiting for just such an oppor- 
tunity, having grown tired of the monotonous life of 
a student, and was anxious to put into practice much 
of the knowledge he had acquired through study. He 
had longed to return to sea-service, but the opportunity 
had not presented itself until now. Without a mo- 



30 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ment's delay he accepted the post and on the following 
day the two brothers parted never to meet again. 
Slowly the vessel descended the Eappahannock, and 
when she had gained the open sea, the sails were spread 
and the King George headed for Jamaica and the 
Caribbees. 

This vessel was also employed in the American slave 
trade, though not exclusively, for the industry was 
yearly becoming less profitable in England owing largely 
to the Quakers, who had issued strong dissuasives 
against the practice. Paul remained on this vessel until 
1766, having made many trips between Jamaica and 
Liverpool. 

About this time he was appointed chief mate of the 
brigantine Two Friends of Kingston, and continued 
bartering in slaves, but on a much smaller scale as com- 
pared with the Friendship or King George. The few 
slaves that found their way to England were afterward 
sent to Spain and Portugal, as traffic was prohibited in 
many of the coast cities. Maize, coffee, bananas, 
oranges, lemons, cocoanuts, and other tropical fruits 
constituted the cargo of the Two Friends on the return 
voyage. It is stated by his relatives that Paul quitted 
the abominable slave trade in disgust at its enormities, 
"a violation," said he, "of the rights of man." In con- 
sequence of abandoning it, he returned to Scotland in 
1768 as a passenger in the brigantine John of Kirk- 
cudbright with Captain Macadam commanding. 

On this voyage the captain and mate both died of 
yellow fever contracted in Jamaica. There being no 
one on board capable of navigating the ship, John Paul 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 31 

assumed the command and brought the vessel safely 
into port. For this service he was appointed master 
and supercargo by Messrs. Currie, Beck & Co., owners 
of the John as well as a number of other merchantmen 
on the Atlantic. 

While Paul was on board this vessel, a circumstance 
occurred which afterwards, in times of violent prejudice 
and party feeling in England, but more especially dur- 
ing the progress of the Eevolution in America, was 
eagerly used to traduce and blacken his character. He 
was often represented as a cruel and lawless brigand, 
eager to plunder and thirsting for blood and guilty of 
a thousand enormities, though of what precise character 
no one could or would specify. It was confidently stated 
— and is still very generally believed in England — that 
while in the command of the John he punished a man 
named Mungo ^laxwell, the ship's carpenter, so severely 
that he died in consequence of the stripes he received. 
The affidavits secured iit the time clearly refute this 
calumny, which probably originated among those of 
his contemporaries who envied the place and influence 
hi? superior intelligence and energy had so early ac- 
quired for him. 

The following official document is but one of many yet 
preserved among Paul Jones' effects which he thought 
proper or found expedient to procure in relation to 
this affair: 

"James Eastment, mariner, and late master of the 
Barcelona packet, maketh oath, and saith. That Mungo 
Maxwell, carpenter, formerly on board the John, Cap- 
tain John Paul, master, came in good health on board 



32 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

his, this deponent's said vessel, then lying in Great 
Rocklcy Bay, in the island of Tobago, about the middle 
of the month of June, in the year one thousand seven 
Imndred and seventy, in the capacity of a carpenter 
aforesaid; that he acted as such in every respect in 
perfect health for some days after he came on board 
this deponent's vessel, the Barcelona packet ; after which 
he was taken ill of a fever and lowness of spirits which 
continued for four or five days, when he died on board 
the said vessel, during her passage from Tobago to 
Antigua. And this deponent further saith that he never 
heard the said Mungo Maxwell complain of having re- 
ceived any ill usage from the said Captain John Paul, 
but that he, this deponent, verily believes the said 
Mungo Maxwell's death was occasioned by a fever and 
lowness of spirits, as aforesaid, and not by or through 
any other cause or causes whatsoever. 

"James Eastment. 
"Sworn at the Mansion House, London, this 30th of 
January, 1773, before me, James Townsend, Mayor." 

It has been alleged that about this time young Paul 
was engaged in the contraband trade, then very gen- 
erally practiced among the self -named "fair dealers" of 
the towns along both shores of the Solway as well as 
along the west coast of Wales and England. Without 
entering into the question of how far at that period 
the act of smuggling might otherwise affect a man's 
moral character or esteem in society, John Paul long 
afterward decidedly and indignantly denied the charge. 

It is not a little remarkable, that many of his own 




GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 33 

intelligent countrymen, do to this day know of Paul 
Jones, or John Paul, as some few called him, only as 
a wild reckless adventurer, a sort of modern buccaneer, 
possessed of no redeeming qualities save great personal 
courage and intrepidity — or as the subject of vulgar 
ballads and marvelous legends, daring, impossible and 
acting horrible deeds, among which were murder, arson, 
smuggling — in brief a pirate, bolder and more blood- 
thirsty than ever infested the Spanish Main, the Car- 
ibbean, or the Mediterranean in the days when bucca- 
neering was a recognized profession. 

One of the earliest letters of John Paul now extant 
relates to these unfortunate affairs which were calculated 
to make a deep impression on a young and ingenuous 
mind, and which gave him much uneasiness and pain. 
The letter is addressed to his mother and sisters and 
gives a better and fairer view of his youthful char- 
acter than could be given by the most labored panegyric 
of a biographer : 

"London, 24 September, 1772. 

"My Dear Mother and Sisters : — I only arrived here 
last night from the Grenadas. I have had poor health 
during the voyage, and my success in not having 
equaled my first sanguine expectations, has added very 
much to the asperity of my misfortunes, and I am well 
assured, was the cause of my loss of health. I am now, 
however, better, and I trust Providence will soon put 
me in a way to get bread, and (which is by far my 
happiness) be serviceable to my poor but much valued 
friends. I am able to give you no account of my future 
proceedings, as they depend upon circumstances which 
are not fully determined. 



34 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

"I have enclosed you a copy of an affidavit made 
before Governor Young, by the Judge of the Court of 
Vice Admiralty of Tobago, by which you will see with 
how little reason my life has been thirsted after, and, 
which is much dearer to me, my honor, by maliciously 
loading my fair character with oblique and vile asper- 
sions. I believe there are few hard hearted enough to 
think I have not long since given the world every satis- 
faction in my power, being conscious of my innocence 
before heaven, who will one day judge even my judges. 
I staked my honor, life and fortune for six long months 
on the verdict of a British jury, notwithstanding I was 
sensible of the general prejudices which ran against 
me ; but, after all, none of my accusers had the courage 
to confront me. Yet I am willing to convince the 
world, if reason and facts will do it, that they have no 
foundation for their harsh treatment. I mean to send 
Mr. Craik a copy properly proved, as his nice feelings 
will not perhaps be otherwise satisfied; in the mean- 
time, if you please, you may show him that enclosed. 
His ungracious conduct to me before I left Scotland, 
I have not yet been able to get the better of. Every 
person of feeling must think meanly of adding to the 
load of the afflicted. It is true I bore it with seeming 
unconcern, but heaven can witness for me that I suf- 
fered the more on that very account. 

"But enough of this. And now a word or two in the 
family way, and I have done. With affection, 
"Yours always, 

"John Paul.'' 

As to the employer and patron of his deceased father. 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 35 

young Paul naturally looked to Mr. Craik for advice 
and counsel as well as asking his protection and kind- 
ness to his mother and sisters. Mr. Craik wrote Paul 
at the request of his mother, setting forth the rumors 
current in England, stating at the same time that he 
was fully convinced of his innocence. This should set- 
tle in our minds the falsity of the unproved charges of 
murder, for we would not like to associate so horrible a 
crime with so great and honored a name as John Paul 
Jones. 

While in London in the fall of 1772 he obtained com- 
mand of the bark Betsy, a West India trading ship on 
which he made a number of voyages to those islands. 
His speculations in the islands, aside from those made 
in the interests of his employers, appear to have been 
chiefly in tropical fruits, tobacco, spices, coffee, maize, 
etc., taken in exchange for manufactured goods from 
England and the East. From correspondence and a 
marginal reference in his early journal, it appears that 
he left considerable property on the Island of Tobago 
and in the Grenadas. The property consisted chiefly, 
however, of produce, fruits and merchandise held by 
his agents during his absence en voyage. The goods 
being of a perishable character, were doubtless sold to 
prevent their total loss, and his agents, of whom he 
often complained, were too dishonest to reimburse him 
for his interest in the goods. 

It was about this time, or a few months later, that 
the surname of Jones was adopted. Though many 
causes have been assigned for the reason of this arbi- 
trary change, yet the best are merely conjecture. His 



36 Jojbn Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

relations in Scotland were never able to assign one; 
there is no allusion to the circumstance in the journals 
and manuscripts which he left, and tradition is silent 
on the subject. It was however a caprice by no means 
singular in sea-faring men. It is mentioned in the 
biographical sketch written for the Edinburgh Ency- 
clopedia, by Dr. Duncan, of Leith, that the custom of 
taking the father's Christian name as a patronymic, 
was not prevalent in the immediate vicinity of Paul's 
birthplace. But it was common in Wales, the Isle of 
Man, and other parts of Great Britain, with which he 
was as familiarly acquainted. It does not seem to be, 
in the language of logicians, "drawing a long confer- 
ence," to suppose, that in adopting a country where he 
meant to establish his household gods, and be the father 
of his own line, he chose to assume a new name, which 
he had good reason for doing, and which should be 
his own, and that of his descendants. His retaining 
that by which he had been always known, proves that 
he did not consider it to have been sullied. It is only 
because calumny and invention had been busy with 
the topic, that it seems proper to suggest a plausible 
explanation for this change. In brief, the very com- 
mon name of Jones (which might have been either 
Brown or Smith) was assumed presumably to quiet the 
talk in England concerning his conduct on the John, 
which was running high, but as a court having juris- 
diction to try crimes committed on the high seas had 
exonerated him from all responsibility of the death of 
Maxwell, Paul need not have assumed the name of 
Jones from any fear of further prosecution. However, 



Goes to Sea — Settles in Virginia. 37 

it is well that we should believe that he desired to lose 
his identity for the time being at least, and should 
fame and fortune smile on him he could afterward 
reclaim his discarded name simply by dropping the 
name of Jones and live in retirement, without fear of 
insult and persecution. 

In the spring of 1773, while in Havana, he learned 
of the death of his brother William. Transferring his 
interests in the cargo of the Betsy to the first mate, and 
sending the bark home in his care, Jones hastened to 
Virginia to assume charge of his brother's estate. Mis- 
fortune, however, had overtaken them both and neither 
the Virginia estate nor the properties in the West 
Indies availed Jones more than a pittance. For twenty 
months, it is said, he subsisted on the inconsiderable 
sum of fifty pounds ($250). It is to this period that 
he refers in his letter to the Countess Selkirk, when 
he says: 

"Before the war (the American Eevolution) I had 
at an early time of life withdrawn from the sea ser- 
vice, in favor of ^calm contemplation and poetic ease.' 
I have sacrificed not only my favorite scheme of life, 
but the softer affections of the heart, and my prospects 
of domestic happiness, and am ready to sacrifice my life 
also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture could restore 
peace and good will among men." 

The breaking out of the Eevolution found Paul Jones 
living in deep retirement on the peaceful shores of the 
Rappahannock, but he was not an indifferent spectator 
to the events transpiring in the colonies. The battles 
of Concord and Lexington had been fought. Fort 



38 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Ticonderoga had surrendered to Ethan Allen and Wash- 
ington was calling for volunteers to defend the coast 
cities against the invasion of the British. 

Now was the opportunity for which Paul Jones had 
long been waiting. His disappearance from the sea 
had occasioned much comment in England, and he felt 
that while he was righting some of the wrongs he had 
suffered through false accusations he would not have 
to shoulder the burdens of John Paul in assuming the 
name of Paul Jones. 



CHAPTER III. 

IN THE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Though Paul Jones had not received his maritime 
education in ships of war, he had frequently sailed in 
armed vessels and had been early trained into an ex- 
cellent, practical seaman, completely realizing the mer- 
chant-sailor's adage: "Aft the more honor — forward 
the better man," 

The West Indies had long been a favorite resort for 
pirates, and all vessels visiting that part of the world 
carried a small armament and a crew trained in the 
use of these instruments of defense. In his correspond- 
ence and journal, Jones makes no mention of having 
come in contact with any of these sea-rovers, but we 
may be sure that had one chanced to meet the John or 
the Two Friends while the guns of those vessels were 
in charge of Paul Jones, there would have been little 
piracy practiced in those waters for some years to 
come. 

It might not be out of place at this time to give a 
brief description of Paul Jones as he appeared upon 
his return to Fredericksburg after an absence of some 
ten or twelve years: In height he was a trifle above 
the medium, perhaps about five feet seven or eight 
inches, and weighing about 145 pounds. He was active 
and graceful in his movements, but quiet and manly 

89 



40 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

in deportment and capable of enduring great fatigue. 
His voice was soft and low even in delivering his com- 
mands. His countenance was thoughtful, melancholy 
and somewhat stern in its expression, though not so at 
all limes. His carriage was manifestly that of a sol- 
dier, and when applying for a commission in the navy 
his officer-like appearance won for him a lieutenancy, 
which was shortly afterwards changed by the Marine 
Committee to a captaincy, upon the recommendation 
of Washington. 

His nautical skill, as well as his boldness and capac- 
ity, were thus of incalculable value to the infant navy 
of America; and in 1775, when the combustibles of 
revolution, so long smouldering, burst into an open, 
irrepressible flame, his services were as readily accepted 
as they were heartily tendered. Thus we see how essen- 
tial it was for Jones to possess a technical knowledge 
of navigation, gained by three long years of close ap- 
plies tion after a brief service on the sea. Added to 
this came twelve years of the hardest kind of sea 
service in vessels armed and equipped for battle and 
doubtless not without its "occasional alarm and an en- 
counter," and all this before his twenty-sixth year. 

In organizing the maritime service of the young 
Kepublic, three classes of lieutenants were appointed by 
the Marine Committee of Congress, and of the first 
class Paul Jones was appointed senior lieutenant. Only 
his extreme youth prevented his immediate appointment 
to a captaincy, for his knowledge of sailing, navigation 
and details of the manual of arms, surpassed that of 
any other appointment in the navy. 



In tlie Service of the United States. 41 

The first commission he received from Congress 
bears the date of December 7, 1775, and is signed by 
John Hancock, Eobert Morris and William Whipple, 
members of the Marine Committee. Lieutenant Jones 
was assigned to duty on the Black Prince (the Alfred), 
a name of good omen they doubtless thought when they 
changed names, and it was on board of this vessel on 
New Year's day 1776, then lying before Philadelphia, 
that Paul Jones hoisted the ensign "Kattlesnake — 
Don't Tread On Me," the first time this or any other 
American flag was ever displayed on an American 
vessel. 

The American navy at this time consisted of only two 
ships, two brigantines and one sloop. Even these it 
v/as not easy to officer with persons properly qualified. 
There were men in the colonies who had received some 
training on board British ships of war, but not in the 
capacity of officers. The Admiralty saw to it that no 
American rose higher than an ordinary seaman, for it 
might stand the colonies in good stead to be able to 
return blow for blow and in the way they were taught. 
It must not be forgotten that George Washington had 
received his military training under Dinwiddle and 
Brad dock of the English army, and that it was he who 
marched in and planted the British flag on the yet 
smoking ruins of Fort Duquesne, Fort Pitt, or Pitts- 
burg as the place has since been called. 

The marine committee had dreams of a great navy, 
but they were without means to either build or buy 
ships, or procure capable men to officer them even if 
they had possessed the necessary funds or ships. Orders 



42 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

had been placed for thirteen new frigates, however, to 
be completed within the year, and in order to properly 
man these vessels, more than one hundred men were 
taken aboard the Alfred under the command of Paul 
Jones, who had been directed to "instruct them in the 
arts and practices of war" for service in the new navy. 

Among the papers drawn up by himself — and which 
remain among the effects of Paul Jones, is one pre- 
pared for the private information of Louis XVI, King 
of France, the friend and patron of America. This 
journal was read with absorbing interest by that unfor- 
tunate monarch while a close prisoner during the stormy 
days following the fall of the Bastile. This document 
contains the following clear and succinct account of 
Jones' early operations written in the third person, so 
that should it fall into other hands, it would not appear 
as self-laudation or a personal justification of his course 
in criticising the personnel of the infant navy: 

"When Congress thought fit to equip a naval force 
toward the conclusion of the year 1775, for the defence 
of American liberty, and for repelling every hostile in- 
vasion thereof, it was a very difficult matter to find 
men fitly qualified for officers and willing to embark in 
the ships and vessels that were then put into commis- 
sion. The American navy at first was no more than 
the ships Alfred and Columbus, and brigantines An- 
drew Doria and Cabot, and the sloop Providence. A 
commander-in-chief of the fleet, Ezekiel Hopkins, 
Esquire, was appointed, and Captains Dudley Salton- 
etall of the Alfred, Abraham Whipple of the Columbus, 
Nicholas Biddle of the Andrew Doria, and John B. 



In the Service of the United States. 43 

Hopkins, Jr., of the Cabot, were named for the ships 
and brigantines. The Alfred carried 30 guns and 300 
men, the Columbus 28 guns and 300 men, the Andrew 
Doria 16 guns and 200 men, the Sebastian Cabot 14 
guns and 200 men, the Providence 12 guns and 150 
men. 

"A captain's commission for the Providence, William 
Hazard commanding (bought, or to be bought, about 
this time, from Captain Whipple) which Mr. Joseph 
Hewes of the Marine Committee offered to his friend 
Mr. John Paul Jones, was not accepted because Mr. 
Jones had never sailed in a sloop, and had no idea of 
the parts contained in the Declaration of Independence 
that took place the next year. It was his early wish to 
do his best for the cause of America, which he con- 
sidered as the cause of human nature. He could have 
no object of self-interest, and having then no prospect 
that the American navy would soon become an estab- 
lished service, that rank was the most acceptable to 
him by which he could be the most useful in that mo- 
ment of public calamity. 

"There were three classes of lieutenants appointed: 
The first lieutenants were John Paul Jones, Khodes 
Arnold, John Stansburg, Hersted Hacker and Jonathan 
Pitcher. The second lieutenants were Benjamin Sea- 
bury, Joseph Olney, Elisha Warner, Thomas Weaver 
and George McDougall; and the third lieutenants were 
John Fanning, Ezekiel Burroughs and Daniel Vaughan. 
These with the four captains and Commander-in-Chief 
Hopkins, together with about 1,000 seamen, comprised 
the entire personnel of the American navy. What was 



44 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

this insignificant force compared to the hundred vessels 
and the 38^000 well seasoned sailors and officers Tinder 
the command of Admiral Eichard Howe? 

"Paul Jones, it will be noticed, was appointed first 
of the first lieutenants, which placed him well in com- 
mand next to the four captains already mentioned. This 
commission is dated the 7th of December, 1775, as first 
lieutenant of the Alfred. On board of that ship, be- 
fore Philadelphia, Jones hoisted the flag of America 
with his own hands the first time it was ever displayed. 
All the commissions for the officers of the Alfred were 
dated before those of the Columbus, previously referred 
to by Captain Jones. 

"All the time this little squadron was fitting and 
manning, Mr. Jones superintended the affairs of the 
Alfred, and as Captain Saltonstall did not appear at 
Philadelphia, the Commander-in-Chief told Mr. Jones 
he should command that ship. A day or two before 
the squadron sailed from Philadelphia, manned and 
fit for sea. Captain Saltonstall appeared, and took com- 
m.and of the Alfred. The object of the first expedition 
was against Lord Duncan, in Virginia. But instead of 
proceeding immediately on that service, the squadron 
was hauled to the wharfs at Eeedy Island, and lay 
there for six weeks frozen up. Here Mr. Jones and 
the other lieutenants stood the deck, watch and watch, 
night and day, to prevent desertion, and they lost no 
man from the navy. 

"On the 17th of February, 1776, the squadron sailed 
from Cape Henlopen, in the Bay of Delaware; on the 
first of March the squadron anchored at Abaco, one 



In tlie Service of tlie United States. 45 

of the Bahama Islands, and carried in there two sloops 
belonging to New Providence; some persons on board 
the sloops informed that a quantity of powder and 
warlike stores might be taken in the forts of New Prov- 
idence. An expedition was determined on against that 
island. It was resolved to embark the marines on board 
the two sloops. They were to remain below the deck 
until the sloops had anchored in the harbor close to 
the forts, and they were to land and take possession. 
There was not a single soldier on the island to oppose 
them; therefore the plan would have succeeded, and 
not only the public stores might have been secured, but 
a considerable contribution might have been obtained as 
a ransom for the town and island, had not the whole 
squadron appeared off the harbor in the morning, in- 
stead of remaining out of sight till after the sloops had 
entered and the marines secured the forts. On the 
appearance of the squadron the signal of alarm was 
fired, so that it was impossible to think of crossing 
the bar. The commander-in-chief proposed to go 
around the west end of the island, and endeavor to 
march the marines up and get behind the tpwn; but 
this could never have been effected. The islanders 
would have had time to collect; there was no fit an- 
chorage for the squadron, nor road from that part of 
the island to the town. Mr. Jones, finding by the 
Providence pilots that the squadron might anchor under 
a key three leagues to windward of the harbor, gave 
this account to the commander-in-chief, who, objecting 
to the dependence on the pilots, Mr. Jones undertook 
to carry the Alfred safely in. He took the pilot with 



46 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

him to the foretopmast head, from whence they could 
clearly see every danger, and the squadron anchored 
safe. The marines, with two vessels to cover their land- 
ing, were immediately sent in by the east passage. The 
commander-in-chief promised to touch no private prop- 
erty. The inhabitants abandoned the forts, and the 
Governor, finding he must surrender the island, cm- 
barked all the powder in two vessels, and sent them 
away in the night. This was foreseen, and might have 
been prevented, by sending the two brigantines to lie 
off the bar. The squadron entered the harbor of New 
Providence and sailed from thence the 17th of March, 
having embarked the cannon, etc., that was found in 
the fort. 

"In the night of the 9th of April on the return of "^ 
the squadron from the Providence expedition, the 
American arms by sea were first tried in the affair 
with the Glasgow, off Block Island. Both the Alfred 
and the Columbus mounted two batteries consisting 
of 58 guns. The first battery was so near the water 
as to be fit for nothing except in a harbor or a very 
smooth sea. The sea at the time was perfectly smooth. 
Mr. Jones was stationed below deck to command the 
Alfred's first battery, which was well served whenever 
the guns could be brought to bear on the enemy, as 
appears by the official letters of the commander-in- 
chief giving an account of that action. Mr. Jones there- 
fore did his duty; and as he had no direction whatever, 
either of the general disposition of the squadron, or 
the sails and helm of the Alfred, he can stand charged 
with no part of the disgrace of that night. The squad- 



In tlie Service of tlie United States. 47 

ron steered directly for New London, and entered that 
port two days after the action. 

"Here General Washington lent the squadron 200 
men, as was thought, for some enterprise. The squad- 
ron, however, stole quietly around to Rhode Island, and 
up the river to Providence. Here a court-martial was 
held for the trial of Captain Whipple, for not assist- 
ing in the action with the Glasgow. Another court- 
martial was held for the trial of Captain Hazard, who 
had been appointed captain of the sloop Providence at 
Philadelphia, some time after Mr. Jones had refused 
that command. Captain Hazard was sick and ren- 
dered incapable of serving in the navy. The next day, 
the 10th of May, 1776, Mr. Jones was ordered by the 
oommander-in-chief to take command ^as captain of 
the Providence/ This proves that Mr. Jones did his 
duty on the Providence expedition. 

"As the Commander-in-Chief Hopkins had in his 
hands no blank commission, he had this appointment 
written on the back of the commission that Mr. Jones 
had received at Philadelphia the 7th of December, 1775. 
Captain Jones had orders to receive on board the Provi- 
dence the soldiers that had been borrowed of General 
Washington, and carry them to New York, there to 
enlist as many seamen as he could and then return to 
New London, to take in from the hospital all the sea- 
men that had been left by the squadron, and were re- 
covered, and carry them to Providence. Captain Jones 
soon performed these services, and having hove down 
the sloop and partly fitted her for war at Providence, 
he received orders from the commander-in-chief, dated 



48 Jolin Paul Jones of Kaval Fame. 

Rhode Island, June 10, 1776, to come immediately 
down to take a sl'oop then in sight, armed for war, 
belonging to the enemy's navy. Captain Jones obeyed 
orders with alacrity, but the enemy had disappeared 
before he reached Newport. 

"On the 13th of June, 1776, Captain Jones received 
orders, dated that day at Newport, Ehode Island, from 
the commander-in-chief to proceed to Newburyport to 
take under convoy some vessels bound for Philadelphia, 
but first to convey Lieutenant Hacker in the Fly, with 
a cargo of cannon, into the Sound for New York, and 
to convoy some vessels back to Stonington to the en- 
trance of Newport. In performing these last services. 
Captain Jones found great difficulty from the enemy's 
frigates, then cruising around Block Island, with which 
he had several encounters; in one of which he saved 
a brigantine that was a stranger from Hispaniola, 
closely pursued by the British ship Cerberus, and laden 
with provisions and public stores. This brigantine was 
afterward purchased by the Consress, and called the 
Hampden. Captain Jones received orders from the 
commander-in-chief to proceed to Boston instead of 
Newburyport. At "Boston he was detained a consider- 
able time by the delay of the purchasing agent in 
securing the necessary supplies. He did not arrive with 
his convoy from Boston, in the Delaware, until the 1st 
of August. This service was performed while the 
enemy was arriving at Sandy Hook from Halifax and 
England." 

This lengthy account of the details of Paul Jones' 
early operations in America has for us more than a 



In the Service of the United States. 49 

passing interest; it is valuable, firstly, because it pre- 
sents in a concise, yet lucid form, the chief operations 
of the entire American navy in the early stages of the 
Revolution, wholly ignored by most of the biographers 
of Paul Jones and but slightly alluded to even by the 
prosiest of historians, and secondly it furnishes a clearer 
insight to the character of the founder of our navy than 
all the histories and memoirs of Jones have so far 
given us. No matter what may be our private opinion 
of his character, his patriotism and his devotion to the 
principles of free government, as exemplified by the 
Constitution, stand unimpeached. He consecrated 
his life to the "cause of freedom and the rights of 
man,'' and was ever ready to defend his convictions or 
to be sacrificed on the altar of human liberty, should 
the hour demand so great a forfeiture. 

Jones was but twenty-eight past when we ascribe to 
him the distinction of being the founder of the Amer- 
ican navy, and though he lived long enough to receive 
full assurance that his services were appreciated, yet 
we must acknowledge that the indifference and neglect 
that those astute founders of States displayed toward 
him was largely the cause of the continuance of diffi- 
culties with England. It is firmly believed by many 
that had Paul Jones been placed at the head of the 
navy when he demonstrated his ability to command 
and execute the orders received from his superiors 
in a masterly manner — if given full authority to act 
independently of Congress and the entangling alliances 
with which he was continually subjected, he would 
have prevented in a large measure the landing of re- 



50 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

inforeements from England. The war could have been 
brought to a close by the quick, decisive, and well- 
directed operations of the navy acting in harmony with 
the land forces under Washington. 

Without an effective navy and a master at the helm 
there was no way of preventing the enemy from landing 
as many men as British gold could buy, and it seemed 
only a question of time when the little handful of col- 
onists must succumb to overwhelming numbers of Hes- 
sian hirelings and British adventurers. 

The presence of so many of the enemy's ships at 
this time was a part of General Howe's plan to shut 
Washington up in New York. The battle of Long Isl- 
and, resulting so disastrously as it did to the Ameri- 
cans, had been fought; Washington had escaped across 
the bay to New York, where he established temporary 
headquarters at the • old Beekman mansion, near the 
present site of the Grand Central Station; Captain 
Nathan Hale, who had been commissioned first lieuten- 
ant a short time prior to the date of Jones' commission 
as first lieutenant, and whose commission to a cap- 
taincy also preceded that of Jones by a few months, 
had been captured and hanged as a spy. Ethan Allen, 
the hero of Fort Ticonderoga, had been captured in 
his ill-planned invasion of Canada and carried in chains 
to England. The Eevolution was now in full sway, and 
for seven long years the colonists suffered many re- 
verses and untold privations for the short time it was 
their privilege to enjoy the freedom they so dearly pur- 
chased. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE NAVY. 

Paul Jones was yet in his twenty-ninth year — the 
very prime of his activities— full of talent, enterprise 
and patriotism; he was ardent and ambitious, and 
thought it nothing short of a crime, for which no pun- 
ishment could be too severe, for an American to be in- 
different to the events transpiring around him, and 
more especially when each blow struck was in defense 
of liberty — the liberation of four million human beings 
from a bondage but little removed from the condition 
in which their descendants subjected an equal number 
of their fellow beings, until a Lincoln burst their 
shackles after four score years of national dishonor. 

Many causes combined to convince Jones that the col- 
onies had a just grievance against the mother country. 
The colonies were right, he argued, in demanding jus- 
tice, liberty and the right to self-government. Taxa- 
tion without representation was servitude pure and sim- 
ple, reasoned Jones, and after all, thought he, what 
more right had England to levy taxes in America than 
Spain, France, Portugal, or any other colonizing power, 
who, perchance, had subjects here. If England could 
demand tribute in the name of taxation, why would 
he not be justified by the same international law that 

51 



52 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

recognized England's right to plunder her subjects in 
America, to lay siege to her coast cities and demand 
ransom — under whatever name they wished to call it — 
ransom, piracy, buccaneering — that he, too, might be 
able to carry on an internecine warfare. 

What better disciple of a pure democracy could the 
cause of republicanism in America have had in the 
first stages of its conception, its parturition and sub- 
sequent development, than this venturesome iconoclast 
from imperial Britain? A man who, from the age of 
twelve years had been a wanderer on the deep, must 
have been as much at home in America as he was in 
his native highlands. Both countries must have ap- 
peared to him as integral portions of the same state 
with only civil dissensions and his individual circum- 
stances to determine the part he should take. Thus, 
right or wrong as to the side he took, he stood clear in 
his own conscience, and to question his motives in es- 
pousing the cause of the colonies would be little less 
atrocious than to impugn the motives of Washington, 
and other defenders of the Constitution, when many of 
them had actually served in the British army in 
America. 

In the heat of a struggle, which, from its very nature, 
was like the feuds of the nearest relatives, singularly 
rancorous and bitter, Jones was branded as a traitor, 
a pirate, a libertine, and a felon; after his most bril- 
liant action, the capture of the Serapis, he was for- 
mally denounced by the British Ambassador at The 
Hague (Sir Joseph Yorke) as a rebel and a pirate 
according to the laws of war. It must be remembered 



The Organization of tte Navy. 53 

that he bore this stigma in common with the best and 
greatest spirits of liis contemporaries — with Adams, 
with Franklin, with Jefferson, and with Washington, 
the latter of whom, together with man}^ of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, had actually 
borne arms in the service of the King of England, 

The memory of Paul Jones now needs little vindica- 
tion in the position he took with respect to the Revolu- 
tion in the colonies. After the war he enjoyed the 
esteem and friendship of Englishmen in all stations 
of life who might have forgiven the most embittered 
political hostility, but never could have overlooked a 
taint on personal honor. 

In the organization of the navy, Jones took a supreme 
interest. He had been trained in a good school — the 
school of experience. He knew the importance of 
proper subordination, and of the strict enforcement of 
a rigid system of discipline, which, hov\^ever unpleasant 
to the rebellious spirit of citizenship, is especially indis- 
pensable to the sea service. His views of maritime pol- 
icy show much soundness, and considering that he 
was still a young man, and a very young officer, he dis- 
played great judgment and understanding of naval and 
state affairs. 

"As the regulations of the navy," he says in a letter 
to Robert Morris, a member of the Marine Committee, 
"are of the utmost consequence, you will not think it 
presumptive if, with the utmost diffidence, I venture 
to communicate to you such hints as, in my judgment, 
will promote its honor and good government. I could 
heartily wish that every commissioned officer was to 



54 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

be previously examined^ for, to my certain knowledge, 
there are persons who have already crept into commis- 
sion without abilities or fit qualifications — I am myself 
far from desiring to be excused/' 

In other letters on this subject he eloquently recom- 
mends a liberal policy toward the private seamen and 
a general system worthy of a srreat and enlightened 
nation. "It is, he further says, "to the last degree dis- 
tressing to contemplate the state and establishment of 
our navy. The common class of mankind are actuated 
by no nobler principle than that of self-interest. This, 
and this only, determines all adventures in privateers — 
the owners as well as those they employ, and while this 
is the case, unless the private emolument of individ- 
uals in our navy is made superior to that of privateers, 
it can never become respectable — it never will become 
formidable, and without a respectable navy, alas, alas, 
America ! 

"In the present critical situation of human afi^airs, 
wisdom can suggest no more than one infallible ex- 
pedient — enlist the seamen during pleasure, and give 
them all the prizes they take. What is the paltry emol- 
ument of two-thirds of the prizes to the finances of this 
vast continent? If so poor a resource is essential to 
its independency, in sober sadness we are involved in 
a woeful predicament, and our ruin is fast approaching. 
The situation of America is new in the annals of man- 
kind; her affairs cry haste, and speed must answer 
them. Trifles, therefore, ought to be wholly disregarded 
as being in the old vulgar proverb, 'penny wise and 
pound foolish.' 



L^ 



The Organization of tlie Navy. 55 

"If our enemy, with the best established and most 
formidable navy in the world, has found it expedient 
to assign all prizes to the captors, how much more is 
such a policy essential to our infant fleet? But I need 
use no arguments to convince you of the necessity of 
making the emoluments of our navy equal, if not supe- 
rior, to theirs. We have had proof that a navy may be 
officered almost upon any terms, but we are not so sure 
that these officers are equal to their commissions; nor 
will the Congress ever obtain such certainty until they, 
in their wisdom, see proper to appoint a Board of Ad- 
miralty competent to determine impartially the respect- 
ive merits and abilities of their officers, and to super- 
intend, regulate and point out all the motions and 
operations of the navy." 

Paul Jones received his captain's commission from 
John Hancock, President of the Congress, on the 8th 
of August, 1776. The following is an exact copy of 
the commission, which was similar to that issued to 
two others on the sam.e date when the relative rank of 
the captains was established by Congress : 

IN COXGEESS. 

"r/ie Delegates of the United States of New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, 
New YorTc, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Mary- 
land, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and 
Georgia, 

^^TO JOHN PAUL JONES, ESQ. 
"Wc; reposing especial trust and confidence in your 



/ 56 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

patriotism, valor, conduct, and fidelity, DO, by these 
presents, constitute and appoint you to be Captain in 
the navy of the United States of North America, fitted 
out for the defense of American Liberty, and for repel- 
ling every hostile invasion thereof. You are therefor 
carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Cap- 
tain, by doing and performing all manner of things 
thereunto belonging. And we do strictly charge and 
require all officers, marines and seamen under your com- 
mand to be obedient to your orders as Captain. And 
you are to observe and follow such orders and directions 
from time to time, as you shall receive from this 
or a future Congress of the United States, or commit- 
tee of Congress for that purpose appointed, or com- 
mander-in-chief for the time being of the navy of the 
United States, or other superior officer, according to 
the rules and discipline of War, the usage of the sea, 
and the instructions herewith given you, in pursuance 
of the trust reposed in you. This Commission to con- 
tinue in force, until revoked by this or a future Con- 
gress. 

"Dated at Philadelphia, August 8, 1776. 
"By order of the Congress, 

"John Hancock, President. 
"Attest, Charles Thompson, Secretary." 

At the same time it was proposed to Captain Jones 
by the Marine Committee that he should go to New 
London, Connecticut, to command the brigantine 
Hampden, but he preferred to remain in the sloop 
Providence, having previously received orders to go 



The Organization of tlie 'Nslyj. 57 

out on a cruise against the enemy "for six weeks, or 
for two or three months." His instructions were not 
limited to any particular station or service. He left 
the Delaware on the 21st of August and arrived off 
Ehode Island on the 7th of October, 1776, just two 
weeks after the capture of Captain Nathan Hale a 
little further up the sound. 

On board the Providence, which carried only twelve 
guns, were but seventy men when the vessel left the 
Delaware. Near the latitude of the Bermudas Jones 
had a narrow escape from the enemy's frigate, the 
Solba}^, bound for the Carolinas and having on board 
Colonel Ethan Allen^ the hero of Fort Ticonderoga, 
who was being returned from England, where he had 
been carried a prisoner earlic" in the fall. After a 
lively chase of six hours, continuing for some time 
within cannon shot of the enemy, Jones finally 
made good his escape. Afterwards, near the 
Isle of Sable, Jones had an engagement with 
the British frigate Milford, the firing lasting 
from ten o'clock in the morning until after sun- 
set, without serious loss to either ship. The day after 
this encounter the Providence entered the harbor of 
Canso, where they recruited several men, took the tories' 
flags, destroyed the fishing and sailed away the next 
morning on an expedition against the island of Mad- 
ame. Two days later Jones made two attacks on the 
principal forts of that island. The sudden attack sur- 
prised and terrorized the islanders, though there were 
hundreds of men and plenty of arms and ammuni- 
tion available on the island. 



58 Joliu Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

This was all accomplished in making the voyage from 
the Delaware to Providence, and was performed in six 
weeks and five days, in which time the Providence took 
sixteen prizes, besides a great number of small craft. 
Jones equipped eight of them from the crew of the 
Providence, and sunk, burned, or otherwise destroyed 
the rest. 

In consequence of these successes Commodore Hop- 
kins ordered an expedition against Cape Breton and 
the fisheries, as well as to relieve a number of Ameri- 
can prisoners from the coal mines where they were 
enforced into labor by the British. The Alfred had 
remained idle ever since the Providence expedition, and 
was without a commander or crew. It was proposed 
to put this vessel as well as the brig Hampden and the 
sloop Providence into commission and all under the 
command of Captain Jones, who had been given orders 
to prepare for the expedition. The Alfred was in bet- 
ter sailing condition than the Providence, and on the 
23d of October Jones changed his flagship from the 
latter to the former. 

Finding it impossible to enlist a sufficient number 
of seamen to man the three vessels, he decided to leave 
the Providence behind; but the wreck of the Hampden, 
on the 27th of October, when under command of Cap- 
tain Hacker, necessitated the refitting of the Provi- 
dence, which required but five days. On the 2d of 
November, with only 140 men aboard the Alfred, and 
the Providence with but 125, Captain Jones laid his 
course to the northward, his objective point being Cape 
Breton. The vessels anchored for the night at Tar- 



The Organization of the Navy. 59 

pawling Cove, near Nantucket, R. I., and finding there 
a privateer inward bound, Jones went aboard in search 
of deserters; finding four men carefully concealed he 
took them aboard the Alfred, together with some twelve 
or fifteen seamen, for his crews on both vessels re- 
quired 100 men to make up the necessary complement. 
The owner of the vessel brought action against Paul 
Jones in the sum of £10,000 ($50,000), but the case 
never came to trial owing to the unsettled condition 
of the civil courts as well as to the unwillingness of 
the Rhode Island authorities to interfere with the good 
work then being accomplished by Captain Jones in 
defense of the colonies. 

Proceeding with the expedition, a brig richly laden 
with dry goods, a smack with a cargo of fish and a 
small armed ship, the Mellish, bound for Montreal and 
laden with clothing for the British troops in Canada, 
were captured by Jones off Louisburg without much 
resistance. The next day, November 18, dawned gray 
and cheerless; a heavy snow fell on the land and flur- 
ries swept across the waves, and by noon a violent gale 
was blowing from off Cape Breton, which necessitated 
casting anchor to prevent the separation of the fleet. 
The storm continued for some time, doing considerable 
damage to both the Providence and the Alfred. As 
soon as the storm abated and repairs were made on the 
disabled ships Captain Jones signalled the sloop Canso, 
and together they destroyed a large British transport, 
burned the oil warehouses and captured several small 
vessels lying in the harbor at Louisburg. On the 24th 
Jones captured three out of five of the British coal 



60 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame, 

fleet bound for New York, being towed by the Flora. 
On the 26th he took a letter-of-marque ship from Liver- 
pool. 

He had now 150 prisoners on board the Alfred and 
as his crew consisted of about the same number it was 
necessary for him to seek some friendly port with 
the five prize ships and prisoners. He therefore set 
sail for Boston, at which port he arrived December 5. 

Immediately upon arrival at Boston he communicated 
with Washington, informing him of the shipment of 
a considerable quantity of clothing and provisions, 
which Washington received just before he recrossed the 
Delaware. What rejoicing there must have been when 
the starving, freezing, bleeding patriots received this 
small stock of provisions and raiment ! We may be 
sure that Washington saw to the division of the rai- 
ment himself; that he saw that no man got more than 
a coat, or a pair of shoes, but not both. 

By a letter from Commander-in-Chief Hopkins, dated 
on board the Warren, at Providence, January 14, 1777, 
Jones was superseded by Captain Hinman, who said he 
had a commission from Congress to take immediate 
command of the Alfred. This attempt to supersede him 
was the first occasion on which Jones decidedly showed 
his firmness and tenacity of character and his deter- 
mination to assert his rights. Even then, unknown, 
and without friends to assist him, he was quite equal 
to the undertaking of placing himself rightly before 
Congress. In a letter to the Marine Committee, dated 
January 21, 1777, which was followed the next day by 
a journey from Boston to Philadelphia in order to 



The Organization of the Navy. 61 

ascertain the cause of his removal and reply thereto 
in person, shows the neglect and heart burnings to 
which this brave man was subjected from the first 
hour of his entering the American navy. Three-fourths 
of his whole life was a struggle to overcome the preju- 
dices, defeat the cabals, or quicken the tardy justice 
of his temporary official superiors. 

Six weeks after his removal from the command of 
the Alfred (though in the interim he had by no means 
been inactive or unmindful of his country's welfare, 
as will be seen from the following defensible letter), he 
was still in idleness, awaiting the pleasure of Congress. 
This letter, though a little tardy in reaching its des- 
tination, did not, however, fail of setting him aright in 
the estimation of the Marine Committee: 

"Boston, 21st January, 1777. 
*' Robert Morris, Esquire, Marine Committee: 

"Sir: — I am now to inform you, that by a letter 
from Commodore Hopkins, dated on board the Warren, 
January 14, 1777, which came to my hands a day or 
two ago, I am superseded in the command of the Alfred 
in favor of Captain Hinman, and ordered back to the 
sloop in Providence Eiver. Whether this order doth 
or doth not supersede also your orders to me of the 
10th ult., you can best determine; however, as I under- 
took the late expedition at his (Commodore Hopkins') 
request, from a principle of humanity, I mean not now 
to make a difficulty about trifles, especially when the 
good of the service is to be consulted. As I am un- 
conscious of any neglect of duty, or misconduct since 



62 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

my appointment at the first as elder lieutenant of the 
navy, I cannot suppose that you have intended to set 
me aside in favor of any man who did not at that time 
bear a captain's commission, unless indeed, that man, 
by exerting his superior abilities, hath rendered, or can 
render, more important services to America. 

"Those who stepped forth at the first, in ships alto- 
gether unfit for war, were generally considered rather 
as frantic than as wise men; for it must be remem- 
bered, that almost everything then made against them. 
And although the success in the affair with the Glasgow 
was not equal to what it might have been, yet the 
blame ought not to be general. The principal or prin- 
cipals in command alone are culpable; and the other 
officers, while they stand unimpeached, have their full 
merit. There were, it is true, divers persons, from mis- 
representation, put into commission at the beginning, 
without fit qualification and perhaps the number may 
have been increased by later appointments; but it 
follows not that the gentleman or men of merit should 
be neglected or overlooked on their account. None 
other than a gentleman, as well as a seaman both in 
theory and practice, is qualified to support the charac- 
ter of a commissioned officer in the navy; nor is any 
man fit to command a ship of war who is not also 
capable of communicating his ideas on paper in lan- 
guage that becomes his rank. If this be admitted, the 
foregoing operations will be sufficiently clear, but if 
further proof is required it can easily be produced. 

"When I entered the service, I was not actuated by 
motives of self-interest. I stepped forth as a free citi- 



The Organization of the Navy. 63 

zen of the world, in defense of the violated rights of 
mankind, and not in search of riches, whereof, I thank 
God, I inherit a sufficiency; but I should prove my 
degeneracy were I not in the highest degree tenacious 
of my rank and seniority. As a gentleman, I can 
yield this point up only to persons of superior ability 
and superior merit; and under such persons it would 
be my highest ambition to learn. As this is the first 
time of my having expressed the least anxiety on my 
own account, I must entreat your patience until I ac- 
count to you for the reason which hath given me this 
freedom of sentiment. 

"It seems that Captain Hinman's commission is 
Number One, and that, in consequence, he was at first 
my junior officer by right, hath expressed as my senior 
officer in a manner which doth himself no honor, 
and which doth me signal injury. There are also in 
the navy, persons who have not shown me fair play 
after the service I have rendered them. I have even 
been blamed for civilities which I have shown to my 
prisoners, at the request of one whom I herein enclose 
an appeal, which I must beg leave to lay before Con- 
gress. Could you see the appellant's accomplished lady, 
and the innocents, their children, arguments in their 
behalf would be unnecessary. As the base minded only 
are capable of inconsistencies, you will not blame my 
free soul, which can never stoop where I cannot also 
esteem. Could I, which I never can, bear to be super- 
seded, I should indeed deserve your contempt and total 
neglect. I am, therefore, to entreat you to employ me 
in the most enterprising and active service, accountable 



64 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to your honorable board only, for my conduct, and con- 
nected as much as possible with gentlemen and men 
of good sense. 

"1 have the honor to be with much respect, 

"John Paul Jones/' 

It must be admitted that Paul Jones, whether in the 
service of Mr. Younger, the shipowner of Whitehaven, 
or that of America, never lost an opportunity of bringing 
himself forward and placing his services in a fair light. 
Though he never claimed more than his due, as we 
now see it, yet he never through delicacy or indifference 
allowed his efforts to be ignored. 

"My conduct hitherto," he says, in a memorial to 
Congress from the Texel, "was so much approved of 
by Congress, that on the 5th of February, 1777, I was 
appointed, with unlimited orders, to command a little 
squadron of the ships Alfred, Columbus, Cabot, Hamp- 
den and the sloop Providence. Various important ser- 
vices were pointed out, but I was left at free liberty 
to make my election. That service, however, did not 
take place; for the commodore, who had three of the 
squadron blocked in at Providence, affected to disbe- 
lieve my appointment, and would not at last give me 
the necessary assistance. Finding that he trifled with 
my applications as well as the orders of Congress, I 
undertook a journey from Boston to Philadelphia, in 
order to explain matters to Congress in person. I took 
this trip because Captain Hinman had succeeded me 
in the command of the Alfred, and, of course, the 
service could not suffer through my absence. I arrived 




KING GEORGE IIL 



The Organization of the Navy. 65 

at Philadelphia on the beginning of April. But what 
was my surprise to find, that by a new line of the navy 
rank, which had taken place on the 10th of October, 
1776, all the officers that had stepped forth at the be- 
ginning were superseded ! I was myself superseded by 
thirteen men, not one of whom did (and perhaps some 
of them durst not) take the sea against the British 
flag at the first; for several of them who were then 
applied to refused to venture — and none of them have 
since been very happy in proving their superior abili- 
ties. Among these thirteen there are individuals who 
can neither pretend to parts nor education, and with 
whom, as a private gentleman, I would disdain to asso- 
ciate. I leave your excellency, and the Congress to 
judge how this must affect a man of honor and sen- 
sibility.'' 

The appearance of Jones at Congress at this time; 
his apppeals to their justice; his animated remon- 
strances, and the capacity displayed in the hints and 
projects he threw out, had a good effect. They inspired 
esteem for his character, and gave confidence in his 
ability. This became apparent in the immediate pro- 
ceedings of that body, for "Congress," he says, "saw 
fit to drop the expedition that had been proposed; and 
the Marine Committee appeared very sorry that there 
was not then vacant a good ship for my command. 
Three ships were ordered to be purchased in the east- 
ern department, and by a resolution of Congress March 
15, I was authorized to take my choice of these ships, 
until Congress could provide a better command. I then 
returned to Boston, and before this last plan could be 



66 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

carried into execution I received a new and honorable 
proof of the good opinion of Congress by being ordered 
on the 9th of May, 1777, to proceed to France from 
Portsmouth in the Amphitrite, with a positive order 
to the Commissioners at Paris to invest me with the 
command of a fine ship as a reward for my zeal and 
the signal services I had performed in vessels of little 
force. This was generous, indeed, and I shall feel the 
whole force of the obligation to the last moment of my 
Hie.'' 

m MAEINE COMMITTEE. 

Philadelphia, May 9, 1777. 
John Paul Jones, Esq. 

Sir — Congress have thought proper to authorize the 
secret Committee to employ you on a voyage in the 
Amphitrite from Portsmouth to Carolina and France, 
where it is expected you will be provided with a fine 
frigate ; as your present commission is for the command 
of a particular ship, we now send you a new one, where- 
by you are appointed a Captain in our navy, and of 
course may command any ship in the service to which 
you are to obey the orders of the secret Committee. We 
are, sir. Yours, etc., 

[Signed] John Hancock, 

Robert Morris. 

Wm. Whipple. 

The letter which Paul Jones took to Europe, ad- 
dressed to the Commissioners at Paris, confirms the 
sincerity of the purpose of Congress. It also put to 



The Organization of tlie Navy. 67 

rest the charge of piracy or that Jones was nothing 
more than the commander of a privateer, winked at, or 
perhaps secretly aided by Congress, but never recog- 
nized as a regularly appointed commander in the Amer- 
ican service during his cruises on the British coasts. 

His first act on reaching France was to write to the 
Commissioners, to whom he was now to look for orders 
and also for equipments. Though his first note was 
brief, it showed his deep appreciation of the recogni- 
tion and confidence which the Congress reposed in him, 
and also his devotion to the spirit of freedom as pro- 
claimed in the Declaration of Independence, adopted on 
the 4th of the preceding July. "I yesterday,^' he writes 
to the Commissioners at Paris, "inclosed you copies of 
two letters which I wrote you previous to my departure 
from Portsmouth, together with a plan which I drew 
up at Philadelphia, on the regulation and equipment 
of our infant navy. It is my first and favorite wish 
to be employed in active and enterprising services, when 
there is a prospect of rendering acceptable services to 
America. The singular honor which Congress has done 
me by their generous acknowledgment of my past serv- 
ices hath inspired me with sentiments of gratitude 
which I shall carry with me to my grave ; and if a life 
of service devoted to America can be made instru- 
mental in securing its independence I shall regard the 
continuance of such approbation as an honor far supe- 
rior to what kings ever could bestow.'' 

On reaching Paris late in December, Paul Jones 
hastened to the residence of Benjamin Franklin, where 
he had been summoned to go with all possible haste. 



68 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Here he found Silas Deane and Arthur Lee, the latter 
of whom had just returned from UOrient, whither he 
had been sent by Franklin to negotiate for the purchase 
of a number of vessels purported to be for sale at that 
port. The Commissioners were seriously considering 
the advisability of purchasing an entire fleet of three 
or four ships and other of smaller force, when Jones 
entered the small and poorly furnished apartments of 
the frugal Franklin. Though the great man had been 
tendered more sumptuous quarters by the King, Louis 
XVI, we are not surprised that he should have de- 
clined to accept apartments in Palace Eoyal, when we 
read further on of his desperate effort to obtain suffi- 
cient means to supply the bare necessities of the Ameri- 
can arms in Europe, not to mention his European mis- 
sion to obtain funds to aid the starving, freezing pa- 
triots of the infant Republic across the sea. 

The meeting was cordial in the extreme, for Franklin 
recognized that whatever good was to be accomplished 
by an American fleet in European waters, it must be 
done at once, and Jones had been sent by the Congress 
to carry out the wishes of the Commissioners. When 
ushered into the presence of Franklin and his fellow- 
Commissioners — Deane and Lee — Jones displayed as 
little ostentation as though he was the bearer of a mes- 
sage and not an envoy commissioned by Congress to 
command a fleet that was destined to perform greater 
deeds than had yet been witnessed, and none more de- 
cisive since, until the day Admiral Schley destroyed 
ihe Spanish fleet off Santiago, while Dewey was bring- 
ing still greater renown to American arms in the Far 
East. 



The Organization of the Navy. 69 

In the following commission, signed by four of the 
most distinguished citizens in the Colonies and mem- 
bers of the Committee on Naval Affairs, Captain Jones 
had good reason to resent the charges of piracy, as well 
as to refuse the proffered command of privateers of- 
fered to him by the French Minister of Marine: 

m MARINE COMMITTEE. 

Philadelphia, 9th May, 1777. 
Honorahh Gentlemen: 

This letter is intended to be delivered to you by John 
Paul Jones, Esq., an active and brave commander in 
our navy, who has already performed signal service in 
vessels of little force; and in reward for his zeal we 
have directed him to go on board the Amphitrite, a 
French ship of twenty guns, that brought in a valu- 
able cargo of stores from Mons. Hostalez & Co., and 
with her to repair to France. He takes with him his 
commission, some officers and men, so that we hope he 
will, under that sanction, make some good prizes with 
the Amphitrite ; but our design in sending him is (with 
the approbation of Congress) that you may purchase 
one of those fine frigates that Mr. Deane writes us you 
can get and invest him with the command thereof as 
soon as possible. We hope you may not delay this busi- 
ness one moment, but purchase, in such port or place 
in Europe as it can be done with most convenience and 
dispatch, a fine-sailing frigate or larger ship. Direct 
Captain Jones where he must repair to, and he will take 
with him his officers and men toward manning her. 
You will assign him some good house or agent to sup- 



70 Paul Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ply him with everytliing necessary to get the ship speed- 
ily and well equipped and manned — somebody that will 
bestir himself vigorously in the business and never quit 
until it is accomplished. 

If you have any plan or service to be formed in 
Europe by such a ship that you think will be more for 
the interest and honor of the States than sending her 
out directly. Captain Jones is instructed to obey your 
orders; and, to save repetition, let him lay before you 
the instructions we have given him and furnish you 
with a copy thereof. You can then Judge what will be 
necessary for you to direct him in, and whatever you 
do will be approved, as it will undoubtedly tend to pro- 
mote the public service of this country. 

You see by this step how much dependence Congress 
places in your advice, and you must make it a point not 
to disappoint Captain Jones' wishes and expectations 
on this occasion. We are yours, etc., 

Robert Morris^ 
EiCHARD Henry Lee^ 
William Whipple^ 
Phil Livingston. 
To the 

Honorable Benjamin Franklin^ 

Silas Deane, and 

Arthur Lee, Esquires, 
Commissioners, etc. 



CHAPTER V. 

GOES TO EUROPE. 

Paul Jones had expected to sail for France in the 
Amphitrite, but was prevented from doing so at the 
last moment by -its commander, who argued that while 
France and England were not in open conflict, it only 
lacked the slightest provocation on the part of France, 
or one of her subjects, for England to declare war 
against his country. The carrying of Paul Jones and 
his officers to France in a French vessel, he thought, 
would be ample grounds for such a declaration, and 
in addition to the danger of precipitating the two coun- 
tries in war he stood in fear of capture and imprison- 
ment, together with the loss of his ship. He therefore 
took "French leave'^ during the early morning hours, 
leaving Jones and his companions in a dejected but 
thoughtful m-ood. There was nothing to do now but 
to return to Boston and await the action of the Marine 
Committee, but we can be assured that Jones was not 
idle in the meantime. 

While at Portsmouth he went aboard the Eanger, a 
vessel of little force, but which Jones thought might 
be put in seaworthy condition, without the loss of much 
time and at no great expense; so, without waiting for 
instructions from Congress, he ordered the Eanger put 

71 



72 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

in readiness for a voyage across the Atlantic, after 
which he made a full report to the Marine Committee 
concerning the conduct of the French commander of 
the Amphitrite and his action with regard to the Ran- 
ger. Within a fortnight after the departure of the 
Amphitrite and the receipt of Jones' letter he received 
a very satisfactory reply from John Hancock, severely 
criticising the conduct of the French Captain, but 
warmly approving Jones' action in leasing the Eanger, 
subject to the approval of Congress. 

It was fortunate for Jones' after reputation that the 
Marine Committee had the forethought to send him a 
commission, bearing date of June 14, 1777, the result 
of a resolution passed that day by Congress, directing 
him to take command of the Eanger as soon as re- 
fitted and proceed to France, where further instruc- 
tions awaited him. After the attempt made on White- 
haven, the capture of the Drake and numerous mer- 
chantment, the name of Paul Jones became a synonym 
for traitor, renegade and pirate, and not since the days 
of Spanish buccaneering was a man or ship so dreaded 
and strenuously avoided by seafaring men as that of 
"the Eanger and her crew of sea rovers, with the bold 
pirate Jones and his black flag." 

It was a mistake to charge Paul Jones with piracy, 
and recent accounts published in England have very 
generously set at rest all such vilifying reports. Preju- 
dice having died out, the true character of the man, as 
well as his motives, now place him in the light of a 
hero and a patriot. The Eanger, as well as the Bon 
Homme Eichard (Bo-nom-re-char) were ships of war 



Goes to Europe. 73 

in the service of the United States and flying the colors 
of the young Eepublic. Jones was the regularly ap- 
pointed commander of both vessels, holding commis- 
sions from Congress signed by John Hancock, Pres- 
ident, and attested by Charles Thompson, Secretary. 

The character of the Eanger, as also that of the Bon 
Homme Eichard, was certainly anomalous in any regu- 
lar navy, but the new States were glad to possess any 
kind of a navy, whether under the guidance of a Ma- 
rine Committee, an admiral or an individual com- 
mander. Jones preferred to act alone and single- 
handed, and his temper and the nature adopted by 
him proved that it was the most advantageous way of 
accomplishing England's defeat on the high seas. When 
harassed at home England felt that her time-honored 
maritime supremacy was in name only, and that she 
was not prepared to defend her own coasts and at the 
same time carry on a war with her rebellious Colonies. 

On board the Eanger, small as was the force under 
his command, but with limited sailing orders, Jones re- 
solved to prove to France and the Congress that had 
honored him with its confidence that his knowledge of 
warfare, even though he had not been trained in ships 
of war, was equal to twice his force in British arms. 
No enemy of Great Britain, sailing in an armed ship, 
knew the condition of her fortifications and defenses 
better than Paul Jones. He had sailed from nearly 
every port of consequence in England, and now that he 
had joined the fortunes of the Colonies and was com- 
missioned to harass the enemy in European waters, it 
was not surprising that the presence of a Yankee fleet 



74 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

commanded by Paul Jones was spreading alarm 
throughout the coast cities. 

The war between France and Great Britain had not 
yet been declared, though they were in a state of un- 
derstood if not avowed hostility. The instructions as 
to his conduct while in European waters is best ex- 
pressed in the following brief letter received by Jones 
about the time he set sail for France in the Eanger : 

m MAEINE COMMITTEE. 

Philadelphia^ September 6, 1777. 
Paul Jones, Esquire: 

SiK — As soon as these instructions get to hand, you 
are to make immediate application to the proper per- 
sons to get your vessel victualed and fitted for sea with 
all expedition. When this is done proceed on a voyage 
to some convenient port in France. On your arrival 
there apply to the agent, if any, in or near said port 
for such supplies as you may stand in need of. You 
are at the same time to give notice by letter to the 
Honorable Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur 
Lee, Esquires, or any of them, at Paris, of your arrival, 
requesting their instructions as to your further destina- 
tion, which instructions you are to obey as far as it shall 
be in your power. 

You are to take particular notice that while on the 
coast of France or in a French port you are, as much 
as you conveniently can, to keep your guns covered and 
concealed, and to make as little warlike appearance as 
possible. Wishing you, etc. 

Upon his arrival at Nantes, France, Jones hastened 



Goes to Europe. 75 

to Paris to meet the Commissioners. Leaving the 
Kanger to be put in repair, as it was considerably dam- 
aged in his transatlantic voyage, Jones gave instruc- 
tions to his officers and crew to remain at Nantes until 
his return, which he thought would be within a fort- 
night. He fully expected to obtain command of the 
large ship (Indian) then building at Amsterdam, and 
therefore did not give definite instructions as to the 
manner in which the Kanger was to be overhauled and 
made ready to meet the British men-of-war. The ves- 
sel then building had been christened the Indian, and 
was to be the property of the United States as soon as 
completed, but the Commissioners thought fit to pre- 
sent it to the King of France, who in turn would use 
it to harass their common enemy — England. When 
Jones learned of the intention of the Commissioners he 
was greatly disappointed and did not hesitate to ex- 
press his disgust to both Franklin and the Congress, 
and made it the subject of a lengthy argument for 
obtaining at least an equivalent command. 

The purpose of the Commissioners in summoning 
Captain Jones to Paris was to avail themselves of his 
thorough knowledge of the English coast. This, to- 
gether with his nautical experience, gained in seven- 
teen years' sailing into or out of English ports, includ- 
ing a year of successful naval engagements on the coast 
of North America, rendered his services of exceeding 
value to the Commissioners. 

Then again, a powerful maritime force under Count 
d'Estaing was forming, and it was at first desired to 
have Jones work in conjunction with d'Estaing in a 



76 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

united attack upon the British. A treaty between 
France and America had been concluded, and many of 
the former^s ablest soldiers, statesmen and men of let- 
ters were casting their fortunes with the young Re- 
public, then scarcely two years old. 

The bold and sagacious campaign planned against 
Admiral and Lord Howe, which, if it could have been 
carried into effect, would in all probability have speed- 
ily ended the war; but delays to which armaments are 
subject have often proved disastrous in naval as well 
as in land engagements, and tliis affair between Paul 
Jones and Count d'Estaing on one side and the Howes 
on the other was no exception. Jones, however, claimed 
the fullest measure for planning this fruitless cam- 
paign in America, for in a letter to the French Minis- 
ter of Marine, M. de Sartin, he says: "Had Count 
d'Estaing arrived in the Delaware a few days sooner 
he might have made a most glorious and easy conquest. 
Many successful projects may be adopted from the 
hints which I had the honor to draw up; and if I can 
still furnish more, or execute any of those already 
furnished, so as to distress and humble the common 
enemy, it will afford me the truest pleasure." 

It does not appear in any chronicle or memoir that 
Captain Jones accompanied d'Estaing to America, as 
some biographers assert, but, on the contrary, his jour- 
nal shows that he must have lingered between Paris, 
L'Orient, Nantes and Passy during most of the winter 
of '77 and '78. Subsequent events proved that d'Es- 
taing's failure to engage Admiral Howe and prevent 
his escape from the Delaware was due chiefly to his in- 



Goes to Europe. 77 

ability to cross the Atlantic in the time necessary to 
catch Howe below Philadelphia. While the Commis- 
sioners keenly felt the ill success of the little squadron, 
they did not overlook the possibility of a defeat when 
they remembered that Admiral Howe's fleet consisted 
of more than thirty ships of war, while d'Estaing had 
not one-fourth the number of men or vessels, and after 
a sea voyage of 3,000 miles he found his vessels badly 
in need of repair and reprovisioning. But the subse- 
quent efforts of d'Estaing, in conjunction with his 
countryman — Rochambeau — before Charleston, where 
the brave Pulaski and Sergeant Jasper fell, proved his 
qualifications to command a fleet in the service of the 
Colonies, as well as his loyalty to Washington and the 
Congress. 

But to return to Jones: On the 16th of January, 
1778, he received his orders from the Commissioners, 
which were as follows : 

Paris, January 16, 1778. 
Captain Jones: 

Sir — As it is not in our power to procure you such 
a ship as you expected, we advise you, after equipping 
the Ranger in the best possible manner for the cruise 
you propose, that you proceed with her in the man- 
ner you shall judge best for distressing the enemies of 
the United States, by sea or otherwise, consistent with 
the laws of war and the terms of your commission. 

(Directions here follow for sending prizes taken on 
the coasts of France and Spain into Bilboa or Coronge, 
unless the danger was too great, in which case they 
were to be sent to L' Orient or Bordeaux.) 



78 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

If you make an attempt on the coast of Great Britain 
we advise you not to return immediately into the ports 
of France, unless forced by stress of weather, or the 
pursuit of the enemy; and in such case you can make 
the proper representation to the officers of the port and 
acquaint us with your situation. We rely on your 
ability as well as your zeal to serve the United States, 
and therefore do not give you particular instructions 
as to your operations. We must caution you against 
giving any cause of complaint to the subjects of France 
or Spain, or of other neutral powers; and recommend 
it to you to show theni every proper mark of respect 
and real civility which may be in your power. 

These orders were such as proved the most agree- 
able to him; unlimited orders and a separate com- 
mand were what he desired most and was all that he 
asked. The granting of his request, even to the min- 
utest detail, naturally pleased him, for it implied full 
confidence in his zeal and ability. The only caution 
he received was not to return immediately to the ports 
of France after making an attack on the coast of 
Great Britain, for the French court wished to delay 
open hostilities a little longer, when it would be in a 
position to defend any stand the King might take in 
aiding or abetting the Americans. 

The Eanger being in readiness before the Commis- 
sioners had completed negotiations in the purchase and 
transfer of a suitable command for Jones, the latter 
left immediately for Nantes, where arrangements had 
been completed for provisioning the ship for a three 
months' cruise. As soon as everything was in readi- 



%* 



Goes to Europe. 79 

ness the Ranger weighed anchor for L' Orient, touching 
at Quiberon, two French ports in the Department of 
Morbihan and Province of Brittany. Here he dis- 
played considerable professional etiquette, characteris- 
tic of his firmness, in compelling a French Admiral to 
salute the American flag, the first it ever received, for 
up to this time no warship had ever met the flag in 
American waters, and since the Ranger was the first 
vessel flying the Stars and Stripes to visit European 
waters, it follows that the honor of being the first for- 
eign representative to recognize the flag of freedom is 
accorded to Monsieur La Motte Picquet, commander 
of a French squadron stationed at Nantes. The second 
recognition also came from a French Admiral — Count 
d'Orvilliers, commander-in-chief of the fleet lying at 
Brest. In this connection it should be remembered that 
Paul Jones was the first to hoist the flags of America, 
"The Rattlesnake," "The Pine Tree" and "The Stars 
and Stripes," on the waters of two continents — first 
on the Delaware, second before Portsmouth, and now 
in the harbor of Nantes, France. We can readily see, 
therefore, the reason for his insistence on the emblem 
of his country being saluted, even by an admiral com- 
manding a fleet of vessels belonging to a friendly 
power. 

At first Admiral Picquet refused to respond to the 
salute that came from the Ranger, and from whose 
niizzen-gaff the Stars and Stripes floated proudly on 
the breezes, but by dexterous maneuvers Jones finally 
succeeded in getting the full recognition that he felt 
that he, hissiupL^nd his country deserved. The following 



80 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

letter, addressed to William Carmicliael, Esquire, the 
French Minister at Madrid, fully explains Captain 
Jones' feelings upon this matter, containing, as it does, 
a good example of the determination of the founder 
of our navy to leave behind him a record on which 
future generations might look with pride and satis* 
faction : 

Brest, February 14, 1778. 

Dear Sir — I am extremely sorry to give you fresh 
trouble, but I think the Admiral's answer of yesterday 
requires explanation. The haughty English return gun 
for gun to foreign officers of equal rank, and two less 
only to captains by flag officers. It is true, my com- 
mand at present is not important, yet, as senior Ameri- 
can officer at present in Europe, it is my duty to claim 
an equal return of respect to the flag of the United 
States that would be shown to any other flag what- 
ever. 

I therefore take the liberty of inclosing an appoint- 
ment, perhaps as respectable as any which the French 
Admiral can produce, besides which I have others in 
my possession. 

If, however, he persists in refusing to return an equal 
salute, I will accept of two guns less, as I have not the 
rank of Admiral. 

It is my opinion that he would return four less to 
a privateer or a merchant ship, therefore, as I have 
been honored oftener than once with a chief command 
of ships of war, I cannot in honor accept of the same 
terms of respect. 



Goes to Euro^De. 81 

You will singularly oblige me by waiting upon the 
Admiral, and I ardently hope you will succeed in the 
application, else I shall be under a necessity of de- 
parting wdthout coming into the bay. I have the honor 
to be yours, etc., John Paul Joxes. 

K. B. — Though thirteen guns is our greatest salute 
in America, yet if the French Admiral should prefer 
a greater number he has his choice, on condition. 

Captain Jones was naturally very proud of having 
obtained triumphant recognition of the iimerican flag. 
In a letter to the American Marine Committee Jones 
relates in detail the circumstances attending the first 
salute the Stars and Stripes ever received. "I am 
happy," he says, "in having it in my power to con- 
gratulate you on my having seen the American flag 
recognized in the fullest and completest manner by 
the flag of France." 

On the 10th of April Captain Jones sailed from 
Brest in the Kanger for the purpose of firing the ship- 
ping along the English coast, capturing all manner of 
sailing craft and manning the largest to join his ex- 
pedition and sinking the smaller. It seemed, however, 
as though his purpose was to be balked by continuous 
gales, for day after day the Eanger battled against 
equinoctial storms that piled the waves mountain high, 
until it seemed as though the staunch bark could never 
outride the shifting seas. At times the vessel was bal- 
anced on the very pinnacle of a mountain wave, and 
the next moment it would sink between great green 
walls of water with tumultuous roaring of the heavy 
seas about her. At last, after days of battling with 



J 



82 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

the elements, the storm abated. Immediately Captain 
Jones gave orders to put the ship in fighting order, as 
the storms had driven them almost within sight of the 
English coast. That night they took a brigantine be- 
tween the Isle of Sicily and Cape Clear, which had on 
board a cargo of flaxseed, bound from Ostend to Bel- 
fast. After sinking the brig and impressing her crew, 
the Kanger proceeded northward into St. George's 
Channel. On the 17th Captain Jones captured the 
ship Lord Chatham, from London with a cargo of por- 
ter and a variety of merchandise for Dublin and Cork 
merchants. This vessel being of equal capacity with 
the Eanger, Jones manned her by dividing his crew 
equally between the two ships and impressing about 
half of his prisoners to make up the ship's complement, 
while the rest were kept in confinement. 

On the 19th he destroyed a Scotch coasting schooner 
off the Mull of Galloway, about three leagues from his 
native Arbigland. When he set out from France he 
was bent on destroying the shipping and all craft lying 
in the harbor of Whitehaven, where but eighteen years 
before he had gone, at the age of twelve years, as an 
apprentice to Mr. Younger, the largest ship-owner on 
the Solway. But Mr. Younger having failed in busi- 
ness, and dying the year before, Jones felt no delicacy 
in attempting the complete destruction of the city and 
its shipping — in fact, everything that would perish be- 
fore the torch. Continuing his destructive cruise 
around the Isle of Man and before Carrickfergus, in 
the north of Ireland, he destroyed more than a dozen 
small craft and a richly laden brig near the Kock of 



Goes to Europe. 83 

Ailsa. By the 21st he found himself within sight of 
Whitehaven, the scene of his apprenticeship, where, as 
a youth, he had secretly resolved to do exactly what 
he now was ahout to attempt. The Irish sea is quite 
narrow at this point; a commanding view revealed to 
Jones the coasts of England, Ireland and Scotland, and 
the records in his journal show that on the 22d the 
three kingdoms were covered with snow as far as the 
eye could see, while the Isle of Man, lying between, 
looked like a huge frosted cake, anchored midway in a 
sea of rare beauty, rich with the memory of many a 
sea ballad of feudal days. 

Without stopping to consider the risk he was taking, 
for he knew every inch of the territory on both sides 
of the Solway, he gave orders to transfer all prisoners 
to the Lord Chatham, which was to lie out in the har- 
bor to await the return of the Ranger. In his journal 
Jones writes that he had no trouble in effecting a land- 
ing, no one suspecting that the strange looking craft 
approaching was a Yankee warship, for it was an en- 
tirely new experience for any English port to be vis- 
ited by a warship belonging to a foreign power. For 
many centuries no nation had had the temerity to 
fight England on her own soil or in ships of war in 
adjacent waters. England's navy was thought to be 
invincible and her coasts impregnable to the puny arm- 
ament possessed by any foreign foe. All England re- 
posed in the assurance that she was safe at home, even 
if her arms were not always victorious abroad. 

Jones' presence, therefore, or that of any other Brit- 
ish foeman, was wholly unlooked for, and no precau- 



84 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

tion had been taken to protect life and property at home 
while her troops and ships of war were in America on 
a mission of plunder and murder, applying the torch 
where starvation and slaughter had left the dwellings 
tenantless. Before the sentinels on shore were aware 
of what was happening they were prisoners, securely 
locked in the guard-house of the old fortress at White- 
haven. Without a moment's delay all the cannon were 
spiked, and Jones, accompanied by Lieutenant Green, 
ran to the southern fort, a quarter of a mile distant 
from where they landed, and spiked the remaining 
cannon. When they returned to the place of landing 
Jones was surprised to find that his orders to fire the 
shipping had not been complied with. This task had 
been delegated to a Mr. Hill and Lieutenant Wallings- 
ford, who had returned to the Ranger as soon as Jones 
started for the lower fort. 

Jones was naturally very much chagrined at this 
failure to have had his orders complied with, but, not 
wishing to have his long cherished plans end in failure, 
almost single-handed he proceeded to fire a large ves- 
sel lying beside the fort. He procured a barrel of tar 
and poured it down the hatchway and over the decks, 
applying the torch at the same time. A strong wind 
was blowing landward, and he had strong hopes that 
the elements would assist him in spreading alarm and 
destruction in all the shipping along the Solway. He 
then stationed himself, with a pistol in each hand, so 
as to prevent the fire from being extinguished by the 
enraged citizens, and when the fire had gained great 
headway he returned in an open boat to the Ranger to 






Goes to Europe. 85 

wsLtch the work of destruction beyond the range of mus- 
ketry from the shore. 

Speaking of the attempt to destroy the city of White- 
haven and her shipping, Jones says in his journal: 
"Had it been possible to have landed a few hours 
sooner success would have been complete; not a single 
ship out of more than two hundred could possibly have 
escaped. What was done, however, is sufficient to show 
that not all their boasted navy can protect their own 
coasts, and that the scenes of distress which they have 
occasioned in America may soon be brought home to 
their own doors. One of my people (David Smith) 
was missing, and must, I fear, have fallen into the 
enemy's hands after our departure. I was pleased that 
in this business we neither killed nor wounded. I 
brought off three prisoners as a sample." 

At about noon, April 23, the Ranger landed at St. 
Mary's Isle, on the south coast of Scotland. A small 
boat with twelve men, including Captain Jones, put off 
from the Eanger to effect the capture of Lord Selkirk, 
who was much in favor with the King. Jones reasoned 
that the King would give every American prisoner then 
in English prisons in exchange for Lord Selkirk, so 
valuable were his services held as a member of Parlia- 
ment. We can imagine Jones' disappointment when 
a thorough search of the island estate failed to find its 
proprietor. Although cautioned by Jones not to dis- 
turb the estate or any other member of Selkirk's house- 
hold, the men could not resist the temptation to carry 
off a few trophies in the shape of valuable family plate. 
Captain Jones remained near the boat and did not go 



86 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

with the men to search for Lord Selkirk, and his letter 
to Lady Selkirk shows that while he had no hand in 
the plunder, he was not unaware that his orders had 
been disobeyed, and that much valuable property was 
carried away in the Eanger, of which he was Captain. 
It is concerning this descent upon St. Mary's Isle that 
brought forth the following famous letter to the Coun- 
tess of Selkirk: 

Eanger, Brest, 8th May, 1778. 

Madame — It cannot be too much lamented that, in 
the profession of arms, the officer of fine feelings and 
real sensibility should be under the necessity of wink- 
ing at any action of persons under his command which 
his heart cannot approve; but the reflection is doubly 
severe where he finds himself obliged, in appearance, 
to countenance such acts by his authority. 

The hard case was mine, when, on the 23d of April 
last, I landed on St. Mary's Isle. Knowing Lord Sel- 
kirk's interest with the King, and esteeming, as I do, 
his private character, I wished to make him the happy 
instrument of alleviating the horrors of hopeless cap- 
tivity, when the brave are overpowered and made pris- 
oners of war. 

It was, perhaps, fortunate for you, madame, that he 
was from home, for it was my intention to have taken 
him, until, through his means, a general and fair ex- 
change of prisoners, as well in Europe as in America, 
had been effected. When I was informed by some men 
whom I met at the landing that his Lordship was ab- 
sent, I walked back to my boat, determined to leave the 
island. * * * 



Goes to Europe. 87 

Though I have drawn my sword in the present gen- 
erous struggle for the rights of men, yet I am not in 
arms as an American, nor am I in pursuit of riches. 
My fortune is liberal enough, having no wife nor fam- 
ily, and having lived long enough to know that riches 
cannot insure happiness, I am content. I profess my- 
self a citizen of the world, totally unfettered by the lit- 
tle, mean distinctions of climate or of country, which 
diminish benevolence of the heart and set bounds to 
philanthropy. Before this war began I had at an early 
time of life withdrawn from the sea-service in favor 
of "calm contemplation and poetic ease.^^ I have sac- 
rificed not onl}^ my favorite scheme of life, but the 
softer affections of the heart, and I am ready to sacri- 
fice my life also with cheerfulness, if that forfeiture 
could restore peace and good will among mankind. 

^s the feelings of your gentle bosom cannot but be 
congenial with mine, let me entreat you, madame, to 
use your persuasive art with your husband to endeavor 
to stop this cruel and destructive war, in which Britain 
can never succeed. 

Heaven can never countenance the barbarous and 
unmanly practice of the Britons in America, which 
savages would blush at, and which, if not discontinued, 
will soon be retaliated on Britain by a justly enraged 
people. Should you fail in this (for I am persuaded 
that you will attempt it, and who can resist the power 
of such an advocate?), your endeavors to effect a gen- 
eral exchange of prisoners will be an act of humanity 
which will afford you golden feelings on a deathbed. 
I hope this cruel contest will soon be closed, but 



88 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

should it be continued, I wage no war with the fair. I 
acknowledge their force and bend before it with sub- 
mission. Let not, therefore, the amiable Countess of 
Selkirk regard me as an enemy; I am ambitious of her 
esteem and friendship, and would do anything, con* 
sistent with my duty, to merit it. 

The honor of a line from your hand in answer to 
this will lay me under a singular obligation; and if I 
can render you any acceptable service in France or else- 
where, I hope you see into my character so far as to 
command me without the least grain of reserve. 

I wish to know exactly the behavior of my people, as 
I am determined to punish them if they exceeded their 
liberty. I have the honor to be, with much esteem and 
with profound respect, madame, your pbedient and 
humble servant, John Paul Jones. 

To the Countess of Selkirk, St. Mary's Isle. 

On the morning of the 24th the Ranger and the 
British ship-of-war Drake engaged in a terrific battle 
off Carrickfergus, Ireland. When the Drake came out 
from shore she was accompanied by five small vessels 
full of people, who were led by curiosity to see an en- 
gagement, and, as they thought, the capture of some 
North Sea robber. But when they saw the Drake at 
the Ranger's stern they hastened to places of safety. 
As soon as the former recognized her antagonist as a 
ship-of-war belonging to the American Navy she hoisted 
the English colors, and at the same moment Jones or- 
dered up the Stars and Stripes. Running close to the 
Banger, the deck officer called for the name of the 



%♦ 



Goes to Europe. 89 

"stranger/^ to which Jones replied through the master: 
"This is the American Continental ship Eanger. We 
are waiting for yon — come ont V The action was hot, 
close and obstinate, and lasted just one hour and four 
minutes, when the Drake struck her colors, but not un- 
til her rigging had been completely carried away and 
her crew disabled. Captain Jones lost but three killed 
and three wounded, the former being Lieutenant \Yal- 
lingsford, John Dougall and Nathaniel Wills. The 
British lost in killed and wounded forty-two men, in- 
cluding her captain and first lieutenant. 

The Eanger was badly damaged in its engagement 
with the Drake, but not enough to require overhauling. 
The distance to the nearest friendly port was too great, 
and Jones was unwilling to return to France until he 
had accomplished a more signal victory than the cap- 
ture of one small vessel, which he was compelled to 
carry in tow. Eepairs were hastily made on board, 
while the Eanger was prowling around looking for 
trouble from any source, such as sinking merchantmen, 
overhauling brigs, burning shipping and engaging 
ships-of-war belonging to the enemy, nothing being 
deemed too hazardous for Jones to attempt. 

The number of prisoners confined in the hold of the 
little fleet of three vessels — the Eanger, the Lord Chat- 
ham and the Drake — already exceeded the number com- 
prising the Eanger's original crew. Jones was naturally 
very much concerned in the safe delivery of these pris- 
oners in France, for he realized that the hundred or 
two prisoners he had meant the release of an equal 
number of Americans undergoing inhuman treatment 



90 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

in English prisons, guarded by such keepers as Cun- 
ningham, the notorious British provost-marshal, whose 
fiendish treatment of Nathan Hale and other prisoners 
in New York and Philadelphia finally brought him to 
the gallows. 

After cruising for several days in the vicinity of the 
Isle of Man, Jones decided to return to Brest to dis- 
pose of his prisoners and the two prize ships, the Drake 
and the Lord Chatham. Instead of returning as he 
had come, by way of St. George's Channel and the Irish 
Sea, he went north to Belfast and Carrickfergus, round- 
ed the northern end of Ireland and down the west 
coast. At Belfast some Irish prisoners taken from 
a brig captured near the Eock of Ailse April 25 
were, on the morning of the 21st, released, being sent 
ashore in a good boat and supplied with sufficient money 
to carry them to their homes near Dublin. After leav- 
ing Belfast the Eanger met with but one encounter of 
any importance, for the route led far out into the 
Atlantic, until they came in sight of Cape Clear, when 
they steered straight for the coast of France. Twenty- 
eight days after leaving Brest the Eanger returned 
with 176 prisoners and two magnificent prizes. Jones' 
loss consisted of three killed, three wounded and one 
(Green) left behind at Whitehaven, who afterward 
proved to be a spy and a deserter. In addition to the 
prisoners and prizes the cannon and ammunition were 
sufficient to equip a small ship, which, together with 
provisions captured from some dozen or more brigs, 
encouraged Jones to make a second attempt on White- 
haven, or, perhaps, a descent on Leith, Cardiff or even 



Goes to Europe. 91 

Liverpool, if Franklin's judgment was not against fur- 
ther attempts of this kind. 

England was now on the very eve of declaring war 
against France. The plenipotentiaries of the United 
States had been publicly received at Versailles during 
Jones' cruise along the English coast. The treaty be- 
tween France and America had just been signed. The 
French Ambassador at London had been ordered to 
leave, and by the decisive engagement between the Are- 
thusa and La Belle Poule the first blow between Eng- 
land and France had been struck. The most active 
preparations were going on throughout the whole of the 
three kingdoms. All winter and spring, in anticipa- 
tion of a war with France, volunteer corps, defensible 
bands and regiments had been organizing, and the navy 
hastily augmented, until several hundred vessels were 
in a fairly seaworthy condition. 

The first leisure Captain Jones had upon reaching 
Brest was occupied in writing to the Countess of Sel- 
kirk. This letter concerning the descent of the Ranger 
upon St. Mary's Isle, when the estate was plundered, 
and much valuable plate and some provisions were car- 
ried off, has been made the subject of much comment, 
and shows the romantic side of the life of Paul Jones. 
It represents the character of the writer in a new and 
certainly not unpleasant light. Not all of the letter 
has been given, but enough, however, to show the ad- 
mirable character of Jones, even if the style or the ap- 
propriateness be questioned. Had the same generous 
spirit of hostility been displayed throughout Great 
Britain and the Colonies, how much misery, wantonly 



92 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

inflicted, might have been averted ! How much of that 
bitterness of feeling engendered between these coun- 
tries, having in common so many powerful bonds of al- 
liance, might have been prevented ! 

How often, it may be asked, does the romance of real 
life exist till the age of thirty? In this historic letter 
to the Countess of Selkirk, awakened and softened by 
the scenes of his boyhood, under circumstances so ex- 
traordinary, he was less at home in addressing high- 
born dames than in drawing up memorials to Congress. 
Dr. Franklin, to whom the epistle was inclosed, says 
in a note to Jones : "It is a gallant letter, which 
must give her Ladyship a high and just opinion of your 
generosity and nobleness of mind." Lord Selkirk wrote 
a letter in reply to that addressed by Captain Jones to 
the Countess, intimating that he would accept the re- 
turn of his plate if made by order of Congress, but 
would not if it came only through individual generosity. 
But, owing to Jones' absence in America, this letter 
did not reach him until 1784, or more than four years 
after it was mailed from Dumfries, Scotland. In the 
meantime the plate had been repurchased by Jones and 
lodged with Gourlade & Moylan, bankers, at Paris, 
where it was held subject to the order of Lord Selkirk. 

In a letter "To Monsieur Le Chevalier Paul Jones," 
at Paris, dated London, August 4, 1789, Lord Selkirk 
not only exonerates Jones from all responsibility in the 
loss of his plate, but took the trouble to cause adver- 
tisements to be published in all of the leading papers 
in England and Scotland that Jones was in no way 
blameworthy or censurable, and that everything that 



Goes to Europe. 93 

was done at his estate was done with the consent of his 
own servants. He closes his testimony to Jones by sub- 
scribing himself, "I am, sir, your most humble servant, 
Selkirk." 



CHAPTER VI. 

IN COMMAND OF THE BON HOMME RICHARD. 

Shortly after Captain Jones reached Brest he re- 
ceived a letter from Franklin congratulating him on his 
late successes along the English and Scottish coasts, 
and in the same letter he proposed another expedition. 
'^The Jersey privateers," he said, "do us a great deal 
of mischief by intercepting our supplies. It has been 
mentioned to me that your small vessel, commanded by 
so brave an officer, might render great service by fol- 
lowing them where greater ships dare not venture, or 
being accompanied and supported by some frigates 
from Brest, at a proper distance, might draw them out 
and take them. I wish you to consider this, as it 
comes from high authority.'^ 

In replying to Franklin's letter Captain Jones could 
not be expected to refrain altogether from comment- 
ing on the use to which he and his vessel were to be 
put. A decoy of the French frigate, with no prospect 
of a separate command, did not appeal strongly to 
Jones' sense of honor. "Nothing could give me more 
pleasure," writes Jones in reply, "than to render essen- 
tial service to America in any way you may find expe- 
dient. I demand nothing, and though I know it was 
the intention of Congress to give me that ship that is 

D4 



• I 



In Command of the Bon Homme. 95 

now building at Amsterdam, I am now ready to go 
wherever the service calls me. If two or three fast- 
sailing ships could be gotten together, there is a 
great choice of private enterprises that I can name, 
some of which might effectually succeed, and would be 
far more for the interest and honor of America than 
cruising with twice the force. It appears to me to 
be the province of our infant navy to surprise and 
spread alarms with fast-sailing ships. When we grow 
stronger we can meet their (the British) fleets and 
dispute with them the sovereignty of the ocean." 

The following letter from Franklin, written as a 
private epistle, offered such dazzling prospects that the 
plans suggested by Captain Jones were for the time 
being forgotten. Captain Jones was a man of quick 
impulse, and though he acted on first impressions he 
seldom suffered any costly reverses. What at first prom- 
ised much often proved a source of trouble and vexa- 
tion, and nowhere has it appeared more than when he 
was given command of the Epervier: 

(Private.) 
Captain John Paul Jones: 

Dear Sir — I have the pleasure of informing you 
that it is proposed to give you the command of the 
great ship we have built at Amsterdam. By what you 
wrote us formerly, I have ventured to say in your be- 
half that this proposition would be agreeable to you. 
You will immediately let me know your resolution, 
which, you may be more clear in taking, I must in- 
form you of some circumstances. She is at present the 



96 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame, 

property of the King, but as there is no war yet de- 
clared, you will have the commission and flag of the 
States and act under their orders and laws. The Prince 
of Nassau will make the cruise with you. She is to be 
brought here under French cover as a French mer- 
chantman, to be equipped and manned in France. We 
hope to exchange your prisoners for as many American 
sailors, but if that fails, you have your present crew, 
to be made up here with other nations and French. 
The other Commissioners are not acquainted with this 
proposition as yet, and you see by the nature of it that 
it is necessary to be kept a secret here, for fear of dif- 
ficulties in Holland and interception. You will there- 
fore direct your letter to me alone. It being desired 
that the affair should rest between you and me, per- 
haps it may be best for you to take a trip up here to 
consult matters, if in general you approve the idea. I 
was much pleased with reading your journal, which 
we received yesterday. 

I am ever, dear sir, your affectionate friend and 
humble servant, B. Franklin. 

The correspondence between Jones and Franklin 
showed an intimate friendship, and must have reslilted 
from the latter's confidence in Jones' seamanship and 
his faith in his display of patriotism. The frequency 
v/ith which Franklin wrote Jones in private^ offering 
plans for various expeditions along the English coast, is 
evidence that the latter's mission to Europe was deemed 
by the Commissioners of supreme importance, if not 
positively essential to the success of the Colonies. In 




BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, 



In Command of tlie Bon Homme. 97 

the receipt of this last letter from Franklin Jones must 
have been exceedingly gratified, for it conveyed to him 
the information that his long-cherished ambition for 
"a separate command with unlimited orders" had at 
last been granted, and he believed the summit of his 
naval career and the climax of the war would be 
reached when, in his new command, he met the British 
fleets, no matter what might be their strength. 

On the 6th of February, 1778, the treaty of com- 
merce and defensible alliance which ultimately secured 
the independence of the United States was signed in 
Paris, and a few days thereafter Franklin was ap- 
pointed Ambassador to France. Within a few weeks 
the British Minister to France was recalled, which was. 
understood to be a declaration of war. As the guardian 
of American interests in Europe, Franklin^s appoint- 
ment must have pleased Captain Jones greatly, for no 
man in Europe, save Silas Deane and Henry Lee, pos- 
sessed his confidence m.ore than Paul Jones. For more 
than a year Deane and Lee had met daily with Franklin 
to devise means of procuring aid, financial as well as 
in transporting men and equipments across the Atlan- 
tic to reinforce the Colonists, struggling desperately 
for their rights as men and immunity from unjust 
laws. In their daily associations the three men formed 
a friendship that lasted until each went to his grave. 

In a note to the French Minister of Marine, M. de 
Sartin, who had placed Jones in favor with the King, 
he says : "I am bound in honor to communicate faith- 
fully to Congress the generous offer which the King 
now makes, of lending the Epervier, in the meantime 



98 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to be employed under my command and under the flag 
of America. I have now under my command a ship 
bound to America. On my arrival there, from the for- 
mer confidence of Congress, I have reason to expect an 
immediate removal into one of their best ships. I have 
reason to expect also the chief command of the first 
squadron destined for an expedition, having in my pos- 
session several similar appointments, and when Con- 
gress sees fit to appoint admirals, I have assurance 
that my name will not be forgot. But as I prefer a 
solid to a shining reputation, a useful to a splendid 
command, I hold myself ready, with the approbation 
of the Commissioners, to be governed by you in any 
measures that may tend to distress and humble the 
common enemy." 

It must be admitted that in all his public career Cap- 
tain Jones never lacked the courage to express his con- 
victions, whether in defense of his own course or the 
apparent incompetency of others. Whether he sought 
to forward his own interests or those of the Colonies 
in his frequent reference to rebuffs and neglect, we 
should be charitable in our estimate of the man, for 
his subsequent acts proved his unbounded loyalty to 
the States of America and its flag, on which the sun 
never sets. 

The prospect of immediate active service and with a 
much larger force than he had ever commanded ap- 
peared very encouraging in July, but toward the end 
of August his hopes again began to fade, and he cast 
about to ascertain the cause of this unmerited neglect. 
September came, and with it redoubled effort on the 



In Command of tlie Bon Homme. 99 

part of the English to suppress the growing sentiment 
in France, not only for giving aid to the Americans, but 
also to check the spirit of invasion which threatened to 
assume such proportions as to force her to fortify not 
only her coast cities, but the interior towns as well. 

France was little better prepared for war with Eng- 
land than were the Colonies, and the few seaworthy 
vessels comprising the French navy were commanded 
by French officers and manned by Frenchmen, even to 
the last of the boatswains. There seemed to be no dis- 
position on the part of the ministry to provide for Cap- 
tain Jones or anyone else not already employed in the 
service of the King. While Jones would spurn an offer 
to command a ship from whose mast he would be com- 
pelled to fly the flag of France, he likewise would re- 
fuse a command where the Congress of the United 
States was not the sole arbiter of his conduct, and to 
whom alone he would be responsible. While his sea- 
manship and extraordinary courage was everywhere 
recognized, the King was obliged to provide commands 
for his own officers, many of whom were then in com- 
parative idleness. Though the large vessel nearing 
completion at Amsterdam was primarily intended for 
America, for reasons known only to Franklin and the 
ministry, its construction was delayed by orders re- 
ceived from the King's Minister of Marine, M. de 
Sartin. 

On the 13th of September Captain Jones again wrote 

de Sartin a lengthy letter, in which he deplored the 

Minister's lack of faith, and, pointing out at great 

length the many discourtesies and neglect that had been 

-LofC. 



100 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

shown him during his enforced idleness from May till 
September. He took the precaution to show the letter 
to the Due de Eochef oucault, after which he forwarded 
it to Franklin, with the request to hand it to the Min- 
ister. To Franklin, Jones inclosed the following note, 
in v/hich he asks him to intercede in his behalf and 
secure, if possible, som^e explanation for the humiliat- 
ing attitude in which he was placed before his crew: 
"It is vain," he writes, "for the Minister to pretend 
that he has not ships to bestow. I know the contrary. 
He has bestowed the Eenommee and others here since 
my return to Brest, and there are yet several new ships 
unbestowed at St. Malo and elsewhere. I know, too, 
that unless the States of Holland oppose it the Indian 
can be got afloat with a tenth part of the difficulty that 
has been represented. If I was worth his notice at the 
beginning, I am not less so now. After all, you have 
desired me to have patience, and I promise you that I 
will wait your kind ad\dce and take no ship without 
your approbation. If it was consistent and conven- 
ient for you to see M. de Sartin I shoul(J hope that 
such an explanation would be the consequence as might 
remove every cause of uneasiness." 

Day after day Jones continued to write Franklin, 
urging his intervention and suggesting many vessels 
that might be given him to command. Gradually, as 
his hopes decreased, Jones lowered his demands and 
spoke less freely concerning his plans of harassing the 
enemy. Many letters, however, passed between him and 
de Sartin, and as often did he write the Due de Roche- 
foucault and M. Le Eoy de Chaumont, the latter being 



In Command of the Bon Homme. 101 

a former member of the French Cabinet. In a letter 
to M. Le Roy he says: "I have already lost near five 
months of my time^, the best season of the year, and 
such opportunities of serving my country and acquiring 
honor as I cannot again expect this war, while I have 
been thus shamefully entrapped in inaction, my duty 
and sensibility cannot brook this unworthy situation." 
After another anxious period of suspense Jones, worn 
out with waiting, "half killed," as he strongly expressed 
himself, addressed a long letter to the King. The de- 
livery of this letter he intrusted to the Duchess de 
Chartres, and with a personal appeal to the Due de la 
Eochefoucault to be present to interpret his meaning 
should the King not be able to understand the spirit of 
his appeal. The letter was first sent to Franklin for 
his perusal, after which it was his wish, he said, that it 
be handed to the Duchess for delivery : 

LETTER TO THE KING. 

Brest, October 19^, 1778. 
Sire: 

After my return to Brest in the American ship of 
war the Eanger, from the Irish Channel, his Excel- 
lency Dr. Franklin informed me by letter, dated June 
1, that M. de Sartin, having a high opinion of my 
conduct and bravery, had determined, with your 
Majesty's consent and approbation, to give me the com- 
mand of the ship of war the Indian, which was built 
at Amsterdam for America, but afterwards, for politi- 
cal reasons, made the property of France. 



102 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

I was to act with unlimited orders under the com- 
mission and flag of America, and the Prince de Nas- 
sau proposed to accompany me on the ocean. 

I was deeply penetrated with the sense of the honor 
done me by this generous proposition, as well as of the 
favor your Majesty intended thereby to confer on 
America. And I accepted the offer with the greater 
pleasure, as the Congress had sent me to Europe in the 
Eanger, to command the Indian, before the ownership 
of that vessel was changed. 

The minister desired to see me at Versailles to settle 
future plans of operation, and I attended him for that 
purpose. I was told that the Indian was at the Texel 
completely armed and fitted for sea; but the Prince de 
Nassau was sent express to Holland, and returned with 
a very different account. The ship was at Amsterdam 
and could not be got afloat or armed before the Sep- 
tember equinox. The American plenipotentiaries pro- 
posed that I should return to America, and as I have 
repeatedly been appointed to the chief command of an 
American squadron to execute secret enterprises, it was 
not doubted but that Congress would again show me 
a preference. M. de Sartin, however, thought proper 
to prevent my departure by writing to the plenipoten- 
tiaries (without my knowledge), requesting that I 
might be permitted to remain in Europe, and that the 
Eanger might be sent back to America under another 
commander, he having special services which he wished 
me to execute. This request they readily granted, and 
I was flattered by the prospect of being enabled to tes- 
tify, by my services, my gratitude to your Majesty, as 



In Command of tlie Bon Homme. 103 

the first prince who has so generously acknowledged 
our independence. 

There was an interval of more than three months be- 
fore the Indian could be gotten afloat. To employ that 
period usefully, when your Majesty's fleet was ordered 
to sail from Brest, I proposed to the Minister to em- 
bark in it as a volunteer, in pursuit of marine knowl- 
edge. He objected to this; at the same time approved 
of a variety of hints for private enterprises which I 
had drawn up for his consideration. Two gentlemen 
were appointed to settle with me the plans that were 
to be adopted, who gave me the assurance that three of 
the best frigates in France, with two tenders, and a 
number of troops, should be immediately put under my 
command, to pursue such of my own projects as I 
thought proper; but this fell to nothing, when I be- 
lieved that your Majesty's signature only was wanting. 

Another armament, composed of cutters and small 
vessels, at L' Orient, was proposed to be put under my 
command, to alarm the coast of England and check 
the Jersey privateers, but, happily for me, this also 
failed, and I was saved from ruin and dishonor, as I 
now find that all the vessels sailed slow, and their 
united force is very insignificant. The Minister then 
thought fit that I should return to Brest to command 
the Lively and join some frigates on an expedition from 
St. Malo to the North Sea. I returned in haste for 
that purpose, and found that the Lively had been be- 
stowed at Brest before the Minister had mentioned that 
ship to me at Versailles. This was, however, another 
fortunate disappointment, as the Lively proves, both 



104 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

in sailing and equipment, nmcli inferior to the Eanger ; 
but, more especially, if it be true, as I have since un- 
derstood, that the Minister intended to give the chief 
command of the expedition to a lieutenant, which would 
have occasioned a very disagreeable misunderstanding, 
for, as an officer of the first rank in the American 
marine, who has ever been honored with the favor and 
friendship of Congress, I can receive orders from no 
inferior officer whatever. My plan was the destruction 
of the English Baltic fleet, of great consequence to the 
enemy's marine, and then only protected by a single 
frigate ! I would have held myself responsible for its 
success had I commanded the expedition. 

M. de Sartin afterwards sent orders to Count 
D'Orvilliers to receive me on board the fleet, agreeably 
to my former proposal; but the order did not arrive 
until after the departure of the fleet the last time from 
Brest, nor was I made acquainted with the circum- 
stances before the fleet returned here. 

Thus have I been chained down to shameful inac- 
tivity for nearly five months. I have lost the best sea- 
son of the year, and such opportunities of serving my 
country and acquiring honor as I cannot again expect 
this war; and, to my infinite mortification, having no 
command, I am considered everywhere an officer cast 
off and in disgrace for secret reasons. 

I have written respectful letters to the Minister, none 
of which he has condescended to answer ; I have written 
to the Prince de Nassau with as little effect; and I do 
not understand that any apology has been made to the 
great and venerable Dr. Franklin, whom the Minister 



In Command of tlie Bon Homme. 105 

has made the instrument of bringing me into such un- 
merited trouble. 

Having written to Congress to reserve no command 
for me in America, my sensibility is the more affected 
by this unworthy situation in the sight of your Majes- 
ty's fleet. I, however, make no remark on the treat- 
ment I have received. 

Although I wish not to become my own panegyrist, I 
must beg your Majesty's permission to observe that I 
am not an adventurer in search of fortune, of which, 
thank God, I have a sufficiency. 

When the American banner was first displayed, I 
drew my sword in support of the violated dignity and 
rights of human nature, and both honor and duty 
prompt me steadfastly to continue the righteous pur- 
suit, and to sacrifice to it, not only my private enjoy- 
ments, but even life, if necessary. I must acknowledge 
that the generous praise which I have received from 
Congress and others exceeds the merit of my past serv- 
ices; therefore I the more ardently wish for future op- 
portunities of testifying my gratitude by my activity. 

As your Majesty, by espousing the cause of America, 
hath become the protector of the rights of human na- 
ture, I am persuaded that you will not disregard my 
situation, nor suffer me to remain any longer in this 
insupportable disgrace. 

I am, with perfect gratitude and profound respect. 
Sire, your Majesty's very obliged, very obedient and 
very humble servant, 

J. Paul Jones. 



106 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

There is no satisfactory evidence that the letter was 
ever presented to the King. No allusion whatever 
is made to the impression it made on him in his 
journal or correspondence, and the early biographers 
of Captain Jones declare that if the letter was deliv- 
ered it was in opposition to Franklin's wishes, and it is 
certain that Jones did nothing contrary to Franklin's 
judgment for fear of jeopardizing the good opinion the 
latter had for him. For this reason it is commonly 
believed that the letter was returned to the Duchess and 
by her destroyed. 

Mr. Temple Franklin, the grandson of Benjamin 
Franklin and secretary of the Commissioners to France, 
fully sympathized with his compatriot in arms, as did 
the Commissioners, but diplomacy demanded silence on 
their part, while all the appointments in the navy were 
being given to French officers. 

On the 22d of October young Franklin wrote Jones 
at length, setting forth the reasons why the Commis- 
sioners did not intercede in his behalf, and counseled 
patience, as his grandfather had done on many previous 
occasions. The letter was not sent until the 24th. On 
that date Franklin concluded his letter with a post- 
script, in which he says: "Since writing the above I 
have received yours of the 19th (the letter to the King). 
I would willingly do everything you there desire of me, 
but it is my grandfather's opinion that there will be no 
occasion to send those letters; and I imagine they were 
written before you heard of the Minister's final deter- 
mination. If, however, you still think they ought to be 
Bent, you have only to order it." Doubtless the time 



In Command of the Bon Homme. 107 

intervening between the writing of the letter and the 
postscript was spent in correspondence or in consulta- 
tion with de Sartin, and the mailing of the letter was 
delayed by Franklin in order to ascertain the Minister's 
intentions with respect to Jones. Fortunately, how- 
ever, the appointment had been made several days be- 
fore, but the commission had not reached Jones at the 
time he sent the letter to Franklin intended for the 
King. 

In a letter to Chaumont, dated November 30, a 
month after his appointment, in speaking of de Sar- 
tin, Jones says: "My best respects and most grate- 
ful thanks await the Minister for the very honorable 
thing said of me to the Due de la Eochefoucault. It 
shall be my ambition, when he gives me opportunity, to 
merit his favor and affection.'' Had Jones then known 
of the disappointments yet in store for him he would 
not have been so hasty in expressing his gratitude to 
the Minister for the prospects of an immediate com- 
mand, but to follow the long train of vexatious delays 
and intentional slights and petty disappointm.ents that 
this courageous man was yet to encounter before he was 
again in active service would only prolong the reader's, 
suspense in following the career of this heroic charac- 
ter. Several times during the ten months of his en- 
forced idleness at Brest he was offered the command 
of privateers, but as often did he decline, for the com- 
mission he held from Congress was that of a captaincy 
in the American Navy, and his sensibility would not 
permit him to associate the command of a squadron 
flying the American colors with that of privateering 



108 elohn Paul Joues of Naval Fame. 

in French vessels responsible only to the King. It 
must not be forgotten that Jones had received nothing 
for his services since entering the navy, and it is well 
known that had he followed the King's wishes in pri- 
vateering against the English he would have been able 
in a short time to have retired with an ample fortune. 

In one of his letters to de Sartin he says in refer- 
ence to his entering the privateer service : "Were I in 
pursuit of profit I would accept it without hesitation, 
but I am under such obligations to Congress that I 
cannot think myself my own master, and as a servant 
of the Imperial Republic of America, honored with the 
public approbation for my past services, I cannot, from 
my own authority or inclination, serve either myself or 
even my best friends, in any private line whatever." 

Thus the winter of ^78 passed, and aside from the 
trip to Paris, Versailles and Passy, Captain Jones em- 
ployed his time in correspondence and in making such 
entries in his journal as he wished to submit to the 
Congress upon his return to America. He did not, how- 
ever, lose faith in Franklin, but he was beginning to 
chafe under his long enforced idleness, when he knew 
there was so much to be done if the Colonies were ever 
to be free. 

At last the day came when a command was offered 
him that his judgment approved^ and he chose the Due 
de Duras, lying at L'Orient, in preference to the Mar- 
shal de Broglio, then at Passy, for he was unable to 
man the latter vessel, owing to the loss of all but three 
of his men, who left the service during his long idle- 
ness at Brest. Captain Jones obtained permission to 



In Command of the Bon Homme. 109 

change the name of the Due de Duras to ^Toor Rich- 
ard/' or, translated into French, *^'Bon Homme Rich- 
ard/' in compliment to a saying of Franklin : "If you 
would have your business done faithfully and expedi- 
tiously, come yourself; if not, send some one." 

Jones was not long in collecting a crew; the three 
men at Brest were ordered to L' Orient where, with 
their assistance, Jones succeeded in enlisting as motley 
a crowd as ever sailed before the mast. Few had ever 
been on board a ship of war, and those who had were in 
the most part undisciplined and spoke only their native 
tongue. Every nation in Europe, and not a few from 
all other continents and Islands of the Seas, was repre- 
sented on the muster roll of the Bon Homme Richard. 
There were Irish, Portuguese, Swedes, Norwegians, 
Scotch, Italians, French, Germans, English, Spaniards, 
Malays, Turks, Americans, Mexicans an.d one lone 
negro from Cuba on board the ship that was destined 
to win for her commander eternal fame and the distinc- 
tion of being the founder of the American navy. The 
confusion of tongues added to the many discomfitures 
that yet confronted Jones, but in order to lessen the 
possibility of an outbreak among the crew he enlisted 
135 French marines to help him maintain order. It is 
singular that no mutiny occurred on this floating babel 
and before the vessel had gotten well under way Cap- 
tain Jones had this rabble of about 250 men under com- 
plete subjection. 

About this time the Alliance arrived at L'Orient 
from America with a fairly efficient crew of American, 
French, Canadian, and a number of impressed British 






110 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

seamen. The ship sailed from Boston early in January, 
1779, and had on board the distinguished General, Mar- 
quis de LaFayette, who was returning to France after 
an absence in America of nearly a year. Learning of 
the formation of a large and formidable squadron to 
be commanded by Captain Jones, LaFayette expressed 
a desire to accompany the expedition. Jones was 
therefore summoned to court, where it was arranged 
to have LaFayette command a body of about 700 troops 
to be selected by the King. There were several small 
vessels lying in the harbor at L' Orient which were hasti- 
ly put in readiness for immediate service. This little 
squadron was to be composed of the Pallas, the brig 
Vengeance, and the cutter Serf, besides the ships Al- 
liance and Bon Homme Kichard. The first three men- 
tioned were designated as "the troop ships," for they 
were to carry the King's seven hundred troops under 
command of General LaFayette. 

Altogether the armada was to be a formidable one, 
and its mission so all-important, and yet so hastily con- 
ceived, that secrecy was deemed of the utmost import- 
ance ; where there were so many contrary forces at work 
the destination of the squadron soon became known all 
over France, and in consequence was shortly afterward 
abandoned "for political and military reasons" as 
ascribed by LaFayette; it is believed, however, that the 
expedition was dropped because the French ministry 
became infatuated with the idea of invading England, 
which was against the judgment of both Jones and La- 
Fayette, whose ideas were to harass the merchant 



In Command of the Bon Homme. Ill 

marine on the high seas and to destroy the shipping of 
the coast cities of England. 

While the expedition, as proposed by the ministry 
and approved by the Commissioners, was temporarily 
abandoned, yet Jones did not lose sight of the chief 
purpose of the greater work of spreading alarm 
throughout England and destroying all manner of craft 
belonging to the enemy. Until some of his plans could 
be perfected, the Bon Homme Eichard was sent to con- 
voy troops, stores and merchandise for Bordeaux along 
the Bay of Biscay. Captain Jones performed this 
trifling service within a fortnight, after which he 
cruised about with little aim or result for some days. 
Jones' greatest fear during his absence was the separa- 
tion of the fleet he had collected at L'Orient. He 
begged Franklin to aid him in holding the squadron 
together until he returned from his cruise in the Bay of 
Biscay. He was fully determined to mal^ another at- 
tempt on Whitehaven, Leith, or other coast cities, first 
exacting ransomx from the municipalities in order to 
enable him to equip and augment "the most formidable 
naval force in the world." He would have under his 
command, he figured, a fleet sufficiently large to enforce 
his demands, and if not complied with he could bom- 
bard the city with the hundred or more cannon on the 
vessels comprising his squadron. 

On the night of June 20, while the fleet lay off 
Eochefort, shortly after leaving L'Orient on a short 
cruise in the English Channel, the Alliance, manned 
almost wholly by American seamen, but commanded by 
Captain Landais, ran foul of the Bon Homme Eichard. 



112 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Both vessels were so badly damaged in the collision that 
Captain Jones found it necessary to take them into the 
Roads of Groix for refitting. Landais was a very 
erratic Frenchman, and insanely jealous of Captain 
Jones' growing fame as a naval commander, and from 
subsequent events it was plainly evident that the col- 
lision was not by accident, but a deliberate plan on the 
part of Landais to have reflections cast on Jones' sea- 
manship in order that he might become his successor 
in command of the European squadron. 

Jones was very much aggrieved at this stupidness of 
Landais : he had chafed under the enforced idleness of 
half a year spent at Brest and Passy and later at 
L' Orient, and now he found himself with about 1,000 
men passing six weeks in idleness at Groix while the 
Alliance and Bon Homme Richard were both under- 
going extensive repairs. Shortly after giving full di- 
rections as to the repairs and alterations necessary, 
Jones informed Franklin of the accident to the vessels 
in his command, not forgetting to place the responsi- 
bility for the accident where it belonged. A few days 
thereafter Jones received a note from Franklin in 
which, however, no reference was made to the accident 
which was the chief burden of Jones' letter. It should 
be remembered that it was the carrying out of the pro- 
visions contained in Franklin's letter that brought 
about the famous engagement between the Bon Homme 
Richard and the Serapis, and gave to the American 
navy a name and reputation that for more than a cen- 
tury and a quarter has had no peer. Franklin's letter 
is as follows : 



lu Command of tlie Bon Homme. 113 

Passy, June 30, 1779. 
Captain John Paul Jones: 

Dear Sir — Being arrived at Groix, you are to make 
the best of your way with the vessels under your com- 
mand, to the west of Ireland and establish your cruise 
on the Orcades, the Cape of Dernens and the Dogger 
Bank, in order to take the enemy's property in those 
seas. 

The prizes you may make send to Dunkirk, Ostend or 
Bergen, in Norway, according to your proximity to 
either of those ports. Address them to the persons M. 
de Chaumont shall indicate to you. 

About the 15th of August, when you will have suffi- 
ciently cruised in these seas, you are to make route for 
the Texel, where you will meet my further orders. 

If, by any personal accident, you should be rendered 
unable to execute these instructions, the officer of your 
squadron next in rank is to endeavor to put them in 
execution. 

With best wishes for your prosperity, I am, ever, dear 
sir, your affectionate friend and humble servant. 

B. Franklin. 
The Honorable Captain Jones: 

N. B. — If it should fall- in your way, remember that 
the Hudson's Bay ships are very valuable. B. F. 

At the time Jones wrote Franklin informing him of 
the disabling of both the Bon Homme Richard and the 
Alliance, he took occasion to again refer to the ship 
then building at Amsterdam. "If the court," wrote 
Jones, "is yet disposed to give me the ship which they 



114 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

at first offered, I think it possible in the present situa- 
tion of my affairs to make a useful and honorable cruise 
that way, with the force now under my command, and 
afterwards to bring that ship out with the crew I now 
have." 

Franklin replied to this : "I have no other orders to 
give; for as the court is at the chief expense, I think 
they have the best right to direct. I observe what you 
write about a change of the destination; but when a 
thing has been once considered and determined on in 
council, they do not care to resume the consideration of 
it, having much business on hand, and there is not now 
time to obtain a reconsideration." Franklin hinted, 
however, that the intention of ordering the cruise to 
finish at the Texel was with a view of getting out the 
Indian; but this he said should be kept a secret. 



CHAPTER VII. 

OPERATIONS ON THE BRITISH COAST. 

At daybreak on the 14th of August, 1779, the little 
squadron comprising the five vessels, mentioned in the 
enterprise fitted out at L' Orient, but now increased to 
seven vessels by the addition of the Monsieur and the 
Grandville, weighed anchor in the harbor of Groix. 
The addition of the last two, each with their 40 and 14 
guns respectively, gave the squadron of seven vessels a 
total of 194 guns. The Bon Homme Richard had been 
remanned with about 90 American seamen who had 
been brought to France from England and exchanged 
for a like number of British prisoners captured by 
Jones off Carrickfergus and Whitehaven. The seven 
vessels that now comprised the fleet under command 
of Captain Jones was a most formidable one, "a force," 
said Jones, "which might have effected great service 
and done infinite injury to the enemy, had there been 
secrecy and due subordination ; but unfortunately there 
was neither." 

From the middle of August till the middle of Sep- 
tember this small fleet cruised in the English and St. 
George's Channels, the Irish and North Seas. The 
weather continued stormy from the 1st to the 13th of 
September, and Jones kept the fleet well within sight 

115 



116 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

of the coasts of Scotland and Ireland where they coidd 
seek shelter within an hour should the stress of weather 
require it. Before the middle of September the little 
squadron had been reduced more than one half in num- 
ber; only the Bon Homme Richard, the Pallas and the 
Vengeance continued under the command of Captain 
Jones. Landais succeeded in inducing the Captains of 
the Monsieur the Grandville and the Serf to join the 
Alliance in a separate cruise; but this wholesale deser- 
tion did not dishearten Jones; on the contrary it gave 
him renewed courage, and redoubled his ambition to per- 
form greater and more signal service than he had yet 
performed in behalf of the Colonies. He did not aban- 
don the hope of accomplishing some marked service 
in British waters; his reputation was at stake, and his 
promise to the Marine Committee, to whom he held 
himself in honor bound, to give a good account of him- 
self and that of his ship in European waters, was never 
lost sight of. He never forgot his obligations to the Con- 
gress, whose good opinion he valued and whose confi- 
dence he possessed to a surprising degree. He thought 
of Franklin the embodiment of honor, truth and noble- 
ness of character; he thought of Deane and Lee who 
were giving Franklin substantial assistance, thereby en- 
abling him to pursue his telling operations against the 
common enemy. His conscience was not troubled, nor 
his hopes blasted when he saw his once formidable 
squadron reduced to three vessels whose combined arm- 
ament was thought no match for the least in the im- 
perial navy. 

Instead of being disappointed, Captain Jones really 



Operations on the Britisli Coast. 117 

felt relieved ; a burden seemed lifted from his shoulders 
when he saw the Alliance, with her traitorous Com- 
mander and her mutinous crew, disappearing in the 
distance, closely followed bj the selfish little French 
privateers that had all along been a source of annoyance 
and constant anxiety to the independent and ambitious 
Commander of the Bon Homme Eichard. It should be 
stated that Captain Jones, with but very slight assist- 
ance from the Commander of the Alliance, had, a day 
or two before, captured a valuable prize-ship, the Union, 
mounting twenty-two guns, and loaded with sails, rig- 
ging, anchors, cables and other essential articles for the 
navy Great Britain was building on the St. Lawrence. 
Captain Jones had, however,, taken the precaution to 
transfer all the stores to the Bon Homme Richard, not 
wishing to trust Landais with both the prize and her 
equipment. It was later discovered that the ^^mad 
Frenchman," as Landais was everywhere known, had 
carried off his prize together with a smaller one left in 
his care wliile the Bon Homme Richard had gone in 
pursuit of a Letter of Marque from Liverpool to Jamai- 
ca, a ship carrying 20 guns and a valuable cargo, for 
West Indian merchants. Landais steered straight for 
Bergen, Norway, where Franklin had instructed Jones 
to dispose of any prizes he might have taken when 
near that port. As soon as Landais reached Bergen he 
turned these two valuable prizes, worth about $150,000, 
over to the British Ambassador in consideration of the 
latter's promised effort to secure for him (Landais) an 
admiralty in the British navy. It is needless to add 
that nothing cam^e of this effort of Landais to break 



118 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

into the navy of Great Britain, for his despicable con- 
duct and character were too well understood by the 
British Admiralty to thus jeopardize the safety of either 
the men or the ships of the Imperial navy. 

After the separation of the fleet, Captain Jones en- 
tered the North Sea and steered in a southerly direction 
along the coast of Scotland. On the 15th of September 
the three vessels appeared in the Firth of Forth just 
off from the town of Leith which was the seaport of 
Edinburgh, scarcely more than a mile distant. Had 
Jones been in reality, as he was in name, the com- 
mander of the squadron, a dash would have been made 
on the town and Captain Jones' plan of securing a 
handsome ransom succeeded; but either from fear or 
obstinacy, the Captains of the Vengeance and Pallas 
refused to obey the commands that came from the Bon 
Homme Richard. Thus Jones was left with but a sin- 
gle vessel out of seven that had sailed from Brest a 
month before; he was determined, however, to accom- 
plish some good before going to the Texel where he 
had been directed by Franklin to proceed after com- 
pleting his cruise on the British coasts. 

When Jones found that he must attack the city with 
but a single ship, he lost no time in perfecting his plans. 
Half a hundred troops were to be landed under the 
command of Lieutenant-Colonel De Chamillard. The 
ships could be plainly seen from Edinburgh sailing up 
the Leith Roads, and though their character could not 
be distinguished, still the inhabitants were aware of 
Jones' presence in the East coast of Scotland, and some 
preparation had been made hurriedly to receive him. 



Operations on the Britisli Coast. 119 

Batteries were hastily erected near the shore and arms 
were sent from the castle at Edinburgh. 

It is related that the boldness of Paul Jones so far 
blinded some of the spectators that on the 17th, a boat 
with five men came off from the coast of Fife to solicit 
from the commander of the incoming ships some powder 
and shot in the name of a great landed proprietor, who 
wished "to have the means of defending himself from 
the expected visit of the vile pirate, Paul Jones." Tra- 
dition in that part of Scotland still has it that some 
powder was sent with a great show of politeness, but 
the request for shot, however, was not complied with 
for very obvious reasons. 

After landing the troops Colonel De Chamillard was 
instructed as to the method to pursue in presenting the 
summons -to the Mayor of Leith. The demands were 
prepared by Jones in his customary polite style of ad- 
dressing even the enemy whom he was about to at- 
tack: 

The Honorable J. Paul Jones, Commander-in-chief of 
the American Squadron now in Europe, etc., to the 
Worshipful, the Provost of Leith, or, in his absence, 
to the Chief Magistrate who is now actually Provost 
and in authority there. 

Sir — The British Marine force that has been sta- 
tioned here for the protection of your city and com- 
merce, being now taken by the American arms under 
my command, I have the honour to send you this sum- 
mons by my officer, Lieutenant-Colonel De Chamillard, 
who commands the vanguard of my troops. I do not 



120 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

wish to distress the poor inhabitants; my intention is 
only to demand your contribution toward the reim- 
bursement wliich Britain owes the much-injured citi- 
zens of the United States, — for savages would blush at 
the unmanly violation and rapacity that has marked the 
tracks of British tyranny in America, from which nei- 
ther virgin innocence nor helpless age has been a plea of 
protection or pity. 

Leith and its port now lies at our mercy ; and did not 
our humanity stay the hand of just retaliation, I 
should, without advertisement, lay it in ashes. Before 
I proceed to that stern duty as an officer, my duty as a 
m.an induces me to propose to you, by means of a rea- 
sonable ransom, to prevent such a scene of horror and 
distress. For this reason, I have authorized Colonel 
De Chamillard, to conclude and agree with you on the 
terms of ransom, allowing you exactly half an hour's 
reflection before you finally accept or reject the terms 
which he shall propose (£200,000). If you accept the 
terms offered within the time limited, you may rest as- 
sured that no further debarkation of the vanguard will 
immediately follow, and that the property of the citi- 
zens shall remain unmolested. 

I have the honor to be, with sentiments of due re- 
spect, sir, your very obedient and very humble servant. 

Paul Jones. 

On board the American ship-of-war the Bon Homme 
Eichard, at anchor in the Road of Leith, September the 
17th, 1779, 

In the journal kept by Captain Jones appears a copy 



Operations on the Britisli Coast. 121 

of the above summons, and appended thereto is the 
following postscript written presumedly the following 
day: 

N. B. — "The sudden and violent storm which arose at 
the moment when the squadron was abreast Keith 
(Inch Keith) Island which forms the entrance to the 
Road of Leith, rendered impracticable the execution of 
the foregoing project." The gale was so severe and 
arose so suddenly that one of the prizes was lost and 
the crew only saved with difficulty, while the three ships 
were all more or less wrecked by the wind. 

The day selected for the descent on Leith was a 
bright Sunday morning, a little past the middle of Sep- 
tember. A gentle sea breeze carried the three vessels 
and prize along the smooth surface of the Firth toward 
the Leith Roads. Many of the inhabitants of Kirkaldy, 
a thriving town just a few miles below Leith on the 
coast of Fife were at church, and seeing the approach 
of the strange looking ships which they knew must be 
those belonging to the "bold pirate Paul Jones," they 
deserted the edifice and assembled on the beach. The 
pastor, a Rev. Mr. Shirra, led the congregation down 
to the shore where he offered the following very re- 
markable prayer : "Now, dear Lord, dinna ye think it a 
shame for ye to send this vile pirate to rob our folk o' 
Kirkaldy? Ye ken that they are puir enow already, 
and hae naething to spare. The way the wind blaus, 
he'll be here in a jiffy, and wha kens what he may do ? 
He's nae too good for ony thing. Mickles the mischief 
he has done already. He'll burn their hooses, take their 



122 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

very claes, and strip them to the very sark. And woes 
me, wha kens but that the bluidy villain might tak' 
their lives ! The puir weemin are most frightened out 
of their wits, and the bairns screeching after them. I 
canna think of it ! I canna think of it ! I hae long 
been a faithful servant to ye, Lord. But gin ye dinna 
turn the wind about and blow the scoundrel out of our 
gate, I'll nae stir a foot, but will just sit here till the 
tide comes. Sae tak' your will o't." 

Never was a prayer more promptly answered, was the 
popular belief along the rocky shores of Cheviot and 
Fife. "I prayed, but the Lord sent the wind," was the 
good old man's answer when in after years he would be 
asked about the appearance of Paul Jones, o3 Leith 
Eoads ; the sudden change of the wind was all that pre- 
vented Jones from carrying out his plan of ransom on 
the city of Leith, but he had no design on Kirkaldy. As 
the ships were headed directly for the shore where the 
little congregation was assembled they had good cause 
to become frightened as the vessels bore down upon 
them. A stiff breeze from the land, however, arrested 
the progress of the fleet, and as the breeze grew apace it 
became a gale, and for some hours threatened not only 
all craft on the bay, but everything on land, as well. 
Several vessels anchored but a short distance from the 
shore sunk in the heavy seas, but the fleet that caused 
so much anxiety was driven far out to sea, and left the 
frightened inhabitants still in doubt as to the real in- 
tentions of the "bold pirate." 

Before retiring altogether from the east coast of 
Britain, Jones could not resist the temptation of mak- 



Operations on the Britisli Coast. 123 

ing some demonstration notwithstanding the remon- 
strance that came from the Captains of the Pallas and 
Vengeance. Turning his attention to the coasters and 
colliers in the Firth not more than a league from Leith. 
Jones effected the capture of fourteen and destroyed 
nine others. All Edinburgh was aroused, and in a 
very short time the abortive attack was known all over 
the three kingdoms. The London, Tj]dinburgh and Cork 
papers of September 12th, 13th, 14th, 18th and 24th 
contained long accounts of "the famous Paul Jones and 
his depredations on inhabitants of Scotland and Eng- 
land.'^ 

Had Jones been successful in his demands on the au- 
thorities of Leith, he would have undoubtedly repeated 
the performance at Hull and Newcastle, but having suf- 
fered the humiliation of witnessing the failure of one of 
his long conceived plans even after approaching within 
pistol shot of the town he had hoped to capture, he now 
turned his attention to the unprotected merchantmen. 

It was Paul Jones' misfortune in almost every im- 
portant crisis of his life, to be thwarted by base designs 
of ignoble rivals, or left single handed to carry out 
plans conceived in expectation of substantial support 
by officers under his command. Disobedience and in- 
subordination seemed to prevail in almost every enter- 
prise conceived by him. In no other service than that 
of America, a land still struggling for a doubtful ex- 
istence as an independent state, and without either the 
power or the means to enforce obedience, would such 
insubordination as displayed on vessels commanded by 
Paul Jones have been tolerated. The conduct of the 



124 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

agents of the French court was not above censure. If 
it did not actually authorize it, it certainly did not dis- 
courage mutiny on board vessels commanded by Jones. 
After his arrival at the Texel, Jones gave ample proof 
which showed that the conduct of the erratic Landais, 
in refusing to support him in his memorable descent 
on Whitehaven and the abortive attempt on Leith, not 
only met the approval of the agents of the French 
Court, but had actually been sanctioned by them. 

Jones complained bitterly to Franklin of the treat- 
ment he had received from the French agents, as well 
as the absence of substantial support from the com- 
manders of the six other vessels that had sailed from 
L- Orient and Brest under his command. Franklin 
expected great things from this formidable little squad- 
ron of seven vessels of varied capacities and armaments 
aggregating nearly 200 guns, and it was with consider- 
able humility, though not without a loud condemnation 
of the conduct of his six subordinate officers, and the 
agents who had authorized the expedition under French 
Commission, that Jones made his report to the Commis- 
sioners. The report showed little good accomplished 
beyond spreading alarm and terror throughout Eng- 
land, Ireland and Scotland, and while this was a part of 
Jones' original plan in the formation of a European 
squadron, still, the capturing of prizes and their crews, 
the securing of ransom or the destruction of shipping 
was more to the liking of both Jones and Franklin, for 
it would not only add to the resources of the Colonies, 
but would necessitate the recall of a part of the English 



Operations on tlie Britisli Coast. 125 

fleet then in American waters, which was giving Ro- 
chambeau, d'Estaing and Washington considerable an- 
noyance. 

Jones' greatest ambition was to collect in one mighty 
squadron every available vessel that could be purchased 
in Europe ; with such a fleet, strengthened by all vessels 
captured from the enemy which could be used as troop 
ships or as auxiliary cruisers, his squadron would be 
most formidable. To do this, however, would require 
a vast sum of money, and the most expeditious as well 
as the most satisfactory way to procure this much- 
needed substance, Jones reasoned, was to seize men of 
influence, men in favor with the King, who would sur- 
render any number of American prisoners, whom. Jones 
would in turn use to man his great fleet. This was 
Jones' purpose when he made the descent on St. Mary's 
Isle, the home of Lord Selkirk. 

Jones' ambition was certainly commendable, but too 
chimerical for realization where he had neither sup- 
port nor means to put in operation the plans that would 
result in effecting even the formation of the nucleus of 
a great navy. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE CAPTURE OF THE SERAPIS. 

The engagement between the Bon Homme Richard, 
commanded by John Paul Jones, and the Serapis under 
Commodore Richard Pearson, is regarded as the most 
desperately fought battle in naval warfare. For a 
close and deadly hand to hand sea-combat, history, be- 
fore and since the days of Paul Jones, records no paral- 
lel. The encounter took place in the North Sea just off 
the east coast of York (England), early in the evening 
of September 23rd, 1779. 

When he set out from France, first in the Ranger, but 
afterward in the Bon Homme Richard, Jones' chief 
object was to fire the shipping and spread alarm in the 
coast cities, with the capture of prizes as an incidental 
diversion. During his first cruise, made memorable by 
his victory over the Drake, he discovered the unpro- 
tected merchantmen returning from the Colonies in 
America, Australia, India and the Hudson Bay Com- 
pany's ships, easy prey — their resistance amounting to 
little more than a skirmish. His threats to lay the 
coast cities in ashes had resulted in his obtaining nei- 
ther ransom nor the satisfaction of witnessing a con- 
flagration which He believed would be only a just re- 
taliation for the wanton destruction of property in 

126 



The Capture of the Serapis. 127 

America at the hands of the British soldiery under the 
Howes and other servants in the employ of England's 
tyrannical King. 

In all of his enterprises, Jones had been fairly suc- 
cessful save the securing of ransom, but he had yet to 
meet in open conflict an armed British man-of-war of 
equal or superior strength to his own. It is true the 
Drake was an armed ship of war and had but two less 
guns than the Eanger, but it must be remembered that 
no attempt had ever before been made by an armed 
ship of war to boldly enter English waters, and the 
crew of the Drake had little conception of the strength 
of the Bon Homme Eichard's armament or the deter- 
mined spirit of her Yankee commander; consequently 
they were taken unawares when they found themselves 
facing a formidable battleship with thirty or more guns 
belching forth shot and shell, and though they respond- 
ed bravely for more than an hour they surrendered only 
when their ammunition was entirely exhausted. 

It was Jones^ desire to "go in harm's way," and as 
he proceeded southward along the English coast he 
grew bolder, and remembering his comparatively easy 
victory over the Drake he believed his vessel able to cope 
with the greatest in the boasted navy of Great Britain. 
At any rate he proposed to continue his cruise south- 
ward to the coast of Holland, as directed by Franklin, 
which would take him within sight of England's great 
fortresses and through waters thickly dotted with all 
manner of British craft. This was just the opportun- 
ity Jones desired most, for after the desertion of the 
treacherous Landais, the commander of the Bon Horn- 



128 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

me Richard was constantly on the alert to take a few 
prizes before proceeding to the Texel. 

The Bon Homme Eichard was kept at all times in 
trim, fighting order, but during the two or three days 
following the Leith incident some repairs and altera- 
tions both in the rigging and on deck were found neces- 
sary, owing to the havoc done by the storm off Leith. 
In anticipation of an early engagement, Captain Jones 
directed that the decks be kept clear, while the men put 
in all their spare time repairing and sharpening the 
several hundred cutlasses, cleaning and priming their 
pistols and loading the 40 odd regular and improvised 
cannon with grape shot, and hanging lanterns about 
the decks to be lighted at a signal for action. The arm- 
ament had been considerably augmented by the addition 
of everything portable from the Union before that luck- 
less prize was turned over to Landais. After taking 
every precaution and completing all arrangements for 
immediate action, Captain Jones determined to engage 
and overhaul every vessel he met. With this purpose 
in view the canvas was spread and the vessel, accom- 
panied by the Vengeance and Pallas, steered in a south- 
erly direction to intercept the fleet of North Sea ships 
bound from London and Newcastle, as well as ports on 
the Channel to the Baltic. 

Captain Jones had good cause to believe that the re- 
port of his exploits, during the past month or two, had 
spread far and wide especially throughout the British 
Isles. His presence in English waters was known to 
every sea captain and merchant having business on the 
seas. Maritime commerce suffered greatly, because the 



The Capture of tlie Serapis. 129 

owners of sailing ships would not risk meeting the 
"bold pirate, Paul Jones/' and whenever a vessel bound 
for a distant port was ready for sailing, the Captain 
signaled a man-of-war to conduct the vessel far on its 
way, or if no armed cruiser was at hand, a half dozen 
or more merchantmen formed a fleet each carrying an 
extra crew trained to the use of small arms and cannon. 
Every precaution was taken to avoid meeting the Yan- 
kee cruiser but one fleet of merchantmen seeing the 
Bon Homme Eichard steering toward it, ran into the 
Humber River, closely pursued by the Bon Homme 
Richard and the Pallas. The merchantmen made their 
escape into shallow water where Jones dared not ven- 
ture owing to the fortifications on both sides and on the 
smaller island at the mouth of the Humber. 

In his Journal, Jones says : "On the 31st we saw two 
sails off Flamborough Head; the Pallas chased in the 
northeast quarter, while the Bon Homme Richard fol- 
lowed by the Vengeance, chased in the southwest. The 
one I pursued, a brigantine collier in ballast, belonged 
to Scarborough, was soon taken and sunk immediately 
afterward, as a fleet appeared to the southward. This 
was so late in the day, that I could not come up with 
the fleet before night ; at length, however, I got so near 
one of them as to force her to run ashore between Flam- 
borough Head and the Spurn. Soon afterward I took 
another, a brigantine from Holland, belonging to Sun- 
derland, and at daylight the next morning, seeing a 
fleet steering toward me from the spurn, I imagined 
them to be a convoy bound from London for Leith, 
which had been for some time expected. One of them 



130 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

had a pendant hoisted, and appeared to be a ship of 
force. They had not, however, courage to come on, but 
kept back, all except the one which seemed to be armed, 
and that one, also, kept to windward, very near the 
land, and the edge of dangerous shoals, where I could 
not with safety approach. In the night we saw and 
chased two ships until three o'clock in the morning, 
when, being at a very small distance from them, I made 
the private signal of reconnoissance which I had given 
to each Captain before I sailed from Groix. One half 
of the answer only was returned." In this position both 
sides lay till daylight, when Captain Jones discovered 
that he had been following the Alliance, which had re- 
turned to the fleet during the night of the 22nd. 

On the morning of the 23rd, Jones speaks of sighting 
a fleet of 41 vessels off Flamborough Head, and bearing 
in a northeasterly direction. He gave orders for a 
general chase by hoisting the proper signal, and headed 
the Bon Homme Eichard in the direction of the mer- 
chantmen. When the fleet discovered Jones bearing 
down on them, they all crowded together and made for 
the shore. The two ships of war that protected the 
fleet remained behind as if intending to give battle. 
Captain Jones could see by the use of a field glass that 
preparations were being made on board the larger ship 
to attack the vessels when they got within reach. The 
Bon Homme Eichard now spread all sail possible, and 
with the signal flying for the line of battle, to which 
the Alliance, still commanded by the treacherous Lan- 
dais, gave no attention. Eager as he was for an en- 
gagement, Jones could not reach the commodore's ship 



Tlie Capture of the Seraj)is. 131 

until seven o^clock in the evening, owing to contrary 
winds. 

Captain Jones had now come to the supreme moment 
of his life. He stood upon the threshold of not only 
his greatest battle and victory, but the most memorable 
one in naval history, Schley, at Santiago, and Dewey, 
at Manila, not excepted. Many attempts have been 
made to tell the story of the meeting of the Serapis and 
the Bon Homme Eichard, but no writer has ever, or 
could be expected to improve on an account written by 
an eye witness, and more especially if that person had 
been the chief participant in that historic episode. 

Immediately upon his reaching the Texel, Paul Jones 
transmitted to Franklin and afterward to the Congress, 
the following account of the Serapis incident. Before 
entering upon the details of the battle as given by 
Jones, let us see what was happening on board the Bon 
Homme Eichard as the vessels were drawing near each 
other in battle array. Orders had been given to light 
the lanterns on the upper decks only; the men had 
buckled on their cutlasses and each a brace of pistols; 
the cooks and stewards were busy scattering sawdust 
and ashes over the decks to catch the blood and thus 
prevent the men from slipping; the powder cans and 
cannon were stripped, fires were extinguished, and 
soon all was in readiness to meet and battle with a foe 
vastly superior in number and equipment. These prep- 
arations were witnessed by thousands of spectators on 
the York heights, who had gathered in expectation of 
witnessing the capture of the "notorious pirate, Paul 
Jones," by the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough. 



132 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

It was about seven o'clock in the evening of this 
beautiful September day, 1779, that the Stars and 
Stripes, floating over the Bon Homme Kichard flaunted 
defiance to the Union Jack that waved from the mast 
of the Serapis. A full harvest moon, rich in its au- 
tumnal mellowness, was just rising over a peaceful sea. 
The restless waves that had wrought such havoc to the 
little squadron the week before, had sunk to rest, as if 
anticipating the impending tragedy whose victims 
would find a shifting sepulchre within its dark, un- 
fathomed depths. Quiet reigned over sea and land as 
the lull which precedes the storm. Not a sound was 
heard, not a ripple broke the awful stillness; the men 
were not at prayers, though doubtless many a silent pe- 
tition went up to heaven asking the God of battles to 
crown their deeds that day with victory. 

^'WJidt Ship Is Tliatr came the hoarse cry from the 
ship flying the Commodore's pendant and the British 
flag. There was a moment of awful suspense plainly 
observed by the crews on either vessel. Again the death- 
like stillness was broken by a second demand from the 
British Commodore, which v/as instantly answered by 
a broadside of ten guns from the Bon Homme Eichard. 
Tranquillity no longer reigned on ship board or the 
waters on which they rested. Before the smoke had 
time to envelop the fleets the sight that met the gaze of 
the men on the Bon Homme Richard is beyond the 
power of words to describe. Through timbers and 
planks, over decks and in the rigging, blood, flesh and 
bone were strewn in one conglomerate mass; the sea, 
'round about, was like a pool where driftwood swirls in 



The Capture of tlie Serapis. 133 

the eddying tide of turbulent waters. Awful as was 
the scene of carnage that the full moon reflected back 
to the actors on the Bon Homme Eichard, it was as 
nothing to the scene that was yet to be enacted; the 
sight was pleasant to that which met the gaze of the 
boarders when Jones lashed his ship to the Serapis and 
the hand to hand combat with cutlass, pistol and hand- 
grenade began for the mastery of sea supremacy. 

The account of this memorable engagement is best 
described in the language of Jones himself, who says: 
"The battle thus begun, was continued with unremit- 
ting fury. Every method was practiced on both sides 
to gain advantage and rake each other, and I must con- 
fess that the enemy's ship, being much more manage- 
able than the Bon Homme Eichard, gained thereby sev- 
eral times an advantageous situation, in spite of my 
best endeavors to prevent it. As I had to deal with an 
enemy of greatly superior force, I was under the neces- 
sity of closing with him, to prevent the advantage which 
he had over me in point of manoeuver. It was my in- 
tention to lay the Bon Homme Eichard athwart the 
enemy's bow; but as that operation required great dex- 
terity in the management of both sails and helm, and 
some of our braces being shot away, it did not exactly 
succeed to my wish. The enemy's bow-sprit, however, 
came over the Bon Homme Eichard's after deck by the 
mizzen-mast, and I made both ships fast together in 
that situation, which by the action of the wind on the 
enemy's sails, forced her stern close to the Bon Homme 
Eichard's bow, so that the ships lay square alongside 
of each other, the yards being all entangled, and the 



134 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

cannon of each ship touching the opponent's. When 
this position took place, it was eight o'clock, previous 
to which the Bon Homme Eichard had received sundry 
18 pound shots below the water, and leaked very much. 
My battery of 12 pounders, on which I had placed my 
chief dependence, being commanded by Lieutenant 
Dale and Colonel Weibert, and manned principally with 
American seamen and French volunteers, was entirely 
silenced and abandoned. As to the six old 18 pounders 
that formed the battery of the lower gun deck, they did 
no service whatever, except firing eight shot in all. Two 
out of three of them burst at the first fire, and killed 
almost all the men who were stationed to manage them. 
I had only two pieces of cannon (9 pounders) on the 
quarter deck, that were not silenced, and not one of 
the heavier cannon was fired during the rest of the 
action. The purser, Mr. Mease, who commanded the 
guns on the quarter-deck, being dangerously wounded 
in the head, I was obliged to fill his place, and with 
great difficulty rallied a few men, and shifted over one 
of the lee quarter-deck guns, so that we afterward 
played three pieces of nine pounders upon the enemy. 
I directed the fire of one of the three cannon against 
the main-mast, with double-headed shot, while the other 
two were exceedingly well served with grape and can- 
nister shot, to silence the enemy's musketry and clear 
the decks, which was at last effected. The enemy was, 
as I have since understood, on the instant of calling for 
quarter, when the cowardice or treachery of three of my 
under-officers induced them to signal the enemy. The 
English Commodore asked me if I demanded- quarter, 



Tlie Capture of the Serapis. 135 

and when I answered him in the most determined nega- 
tive that I had not yet begun to fight, they renewed the 
battle with double fury. They were unable to stand 
the deck ; but the fire of the cannon, especially the lower 
battery, which was entirely formed of 10 pounders, was 
incessant; both ships were set on fire in various places, 
and the scene was dreadful beyond the reach of lan- 
guage. 

To account for the timidity of my three under offi- 
cers, I mean the gunner, the carpenter and the master- 
at-arms, I must observe, that the two first were slightly 
wounded, and, as the ship had received various shot, 
under water, and one of the pumps being shot away, 
the carpenter expressed his fears that she would sink, 
and the other two concluded that she was sinking, 
which occasioned the gunner to run aft without my 
knowledge to strike the colors. Fortunately for me, a 
cannon ball had done that before, by carrying away the 
ensign-staff; he was therefore reduced to the necessity 
of sinking, as he supposed, or of calling for quarter, 
and he preferred the latter. 

All this time the Bon Homme Richard has sustained 
the action alone, and the enemy, though much superior 
in force, would have been very glad to have got clear, 
as appears by their own acknowledgments, and by 
their having let go an anchor the instant that I laid on 
board, by which means they would have escaped, had I 
not made them fast to the Bon Homme Richard. 

At last, at half-past nine o'clock, the Alliance ap- 
peared, and I now thought the battle at an end, but to 
my utter astonishment, he discharged a broadside full 



136 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

into the stern of the Bon Homme Richard. We called 
to him for God's sake to forbear firing into the Bon 
Homme Richard; yet they passed along the ofi-side of 
the ship, and continued firing. There was no possibil- 
ity of his mistaking the enemy's ships for the Bon 
Homme Richard, there being the most essential differ- 
ence in their appearance and construction. Besides, it 
was then full moonlight, and the sides of the Bon 
Homme Richard were all black, while the sides of the 
prize (Serapis) were all yellow. Yet, for the greater 
security, I showed the signal of our reconnoissance, by 
putting out three lanterns, one at the head, another at 
the stern, and the third in the middle, in a horizontal 
line. Every tongue cried that he was firing into the 
wrong ship, but nothing availed; he passed round, fir- 
ing into the Bon Homme Richard's head, stern and 
broadside, and by one of his volleys killed several of my 
best men, and mortally wounding a good officer on the 
forecastle. My situation was really deplorable. The 
Bon Homme Richard received various shot under 
water from the Alliance ; the leak gained on the pumps, 
and the fire increased much on board both ships. Some 
officers persuaded me to strike, of whose courage and 
good sense I entertained a high opinion. My treacher- 
ous master-at-arms let loose all my prisoners without 
my knowledge, and my prospects became gloomy, in- 
deed. I would not, however, give up the point. The 
enemy's main-mast began to shake and their firing de- 
creased fast; ours rather increased, and the British 
colors were struck at half an hour past ten o'clock. 
This prize proved to be the British ship of war, the 



The Capture of the Serapis. 137 

Serapis, a new ship of forty-four guns, built on the 
most approved construction, with two complete batter- 
ies, one of them of eighteen pounders, and commanded 
by the brave Commodore Eichard' Pearson. I had yet 
two enemies to encounter, far more formidable than the 
Britons, — I mean fire and water. The Serapis was at- 
tacked only by the first, but the Bon Homme Eichard 
was assailed by both ; there was five feet of water in the 
hold, and though it was moderate from the explosion of 
so much gunpowder, yet the three pumps that remained 
could with difficulty only keep the water from gaining. 
It was 10 o'clock the next day, (September 24th) be- 
fore the fire was entirely extinguished in both vessels. 
With respect to the situation of the Bon Homme Eich- 
ard, the rudder was cut entirely off, the stern frames 
and transoms were almost entirely cut away, and the 
timbers by the lower deck, especially from the main- 
mast toward the stern, being greatly decayed with age, 
were mangled beyond my power of description to relate, 
and a person must have been an eye witness to form a 
just idea of the tremendous scene of carnage, wreck and 
ruin, which everywhere appeared." 

Such is the account of the great sea fight related by 
its chief actor, and the first of a long line of naval 
heroes who have added luster to American arms and 
placed this nation in the vanguard of States. 

It must be noticed that while Captain Jones was en- 
gaging the Serapis, the Countess of Scarborough, that 
had come out with the Serapis to meet the Bon Homme 
Eichard had struck its colors to the Pallas. Though 
the commencement was simultaneous, the Scarborough 



138 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

surrendered early in the engagement while the Serapis 
desperately held out until nearly every man was either 
killed or disabled. Dr. Eidpath says that out of 375 
men engaged on the Bon Homme Eichard, 300 were 
either killed or wounded, but Jones nowhere relates 
even approximately the mortality on board his ship at 
the close of this most remarkable fight. Other narra- 
tives say that the dead and mortally wounded on both 
ships were by direction of Captain Jones thrown over- 
board, and the decks scrubbed, holystoned and sprinkled 
with hot vinegar and salt to take away the odor from 
the blood-soaked decks and lower rigging. In the hand 
to hand engagement which lasted but a few moments be- 
fore the British struck their colors, the men fought like 
demons ;the cockpits andhatchways on bothships looked 
like butchers' shambles — the decks strewn with frag- 
ments of human remains and the timbers and planks 
bespattered with flesh, blood and fragments of bone, 
bore evidence of the night's awful carnage. On the Bon 
Homme Eichard the sawdust and ashes had caught 
most of the blood, but in the light of the full autumn 
moon, rivulets of blood could be plainly seen streaming 
,down the yellow painted sides of the Serapis. What k "^ 
sight awaited the vision of the living when the moon\ 
and the stars paled before the great luminary day ! The \ 
rivulets of. blood trickling down the sides of the ship, ' 
must have looked more like huge lacerations, by the 
early dawn, than the vital fluid of butchered men. What 
a feast there must have been in those dark cavernous 
fish-inhabited recesses a hundred feet below, before that' 
gallant craft, the Bon Homme Eichard sank into its 



The Capture of tlie Serapis. 139 

watery tomb — a derelict — to wander at will without 
fear of wind or rock or war's remorseless strife ! 

When we remember that the Bon Homme Eichard 
was an old French ship much the worse from many 
years' service, and having just passed through one of the 
most terrific equinoctial storms that ever visited the 
North Atlantic; when we recall the collision with the '^■ 
Alliance, and the blunder of its cowardly commander 
(Landais) in firing into the Bon Homme Richard; 
when we consider that the latter vessel was manned 
chiefly with recruits from every State in Europe, half 
of whom were unable to understand the simplest com- 
mand in English; and again when we reflect that the 
Bon Homme Richard and its gallant commander was 
three thousand miles from home and under the very 
shadow of the enemy's fortresses protected by the 
most powerful vessels in the world ; when we remember, 
too, that the charge against Paul Jones was that of 
piracy, and that if captured the vengeance of an en- 
raged king and parliament would fall upon him in re- 
taliation for his depredations on the coasts of England 
and Scotland, we can begin to realize the audacity, the 
utter fearlessness of this bold defender of the Constitu- 
tion. 

Again, the Serapis was the largest, newest and most 
thoroughly equipped man-of-war in the boasted navy of 
Great Britain, save the Dunkirk, which was then in 
American waters under the command of Admiral Rich- 
ard Howe. Every man on the Serapis was thoroughly 
qualified and perfectly familiar with the duties expect- 
ed of him while the commander could exact and secure 



140 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

strict obedience to his orders; mutiny and disobedience 
in the English nav}^ not infrequently sent men to the 
yard arm or the penal colonies. 

With thousands of spectators on shore watching in 
terrified suspense the outcome of the combat, the com- 
mander of the Serapis was spurred on by a good pros- 
pect of victory over his most dreaded foe, the terror of 
the seas. We cannot help admiring the ambition and 
bravery of the English commander, which even Paul 
Jones admired, but something more than these two very 
essential qualifications was necessary to win victories 
over men so imbued with the principles of liberty that 
they courted death rather than submit to tyranny. The 
British were wrong, and victory seldom perches on the 
banner of the oppressor when the life of an oppressed 
people is in jeopardy. 



I 



CHAPTER IX. 

ORDERED TO LEAVE AMSTERDAM. 

No man wlio has achieved fame came by it through 
accident. In the world of successful men there is no 
such thing as luck. The possession of great wealth is 
not fame; if it came through inheritance, it is more 
often a curse sent in disguise, and the curse rests equal- 
ly upon the ancestor who unwisely bestows, as upon him 
who unwittingly receives. 

The reason why there are so few successful men is 
because the great mass of humanity waits for riches or 
fame to be thrust upon them. When a man discovers 
that it is only in fairy books that wealth and greatness 
come without labor, the sooner he will take off his 
coat and go to work. Some men discover this fact 
quite early in life, and lay their plans preparatory for 
the summons that is to bear them on to victory. Others 
waste their strength and years in a vain endeavor to 
build up a showy exterior, while the inner self is false 
and rotten. In after years they waken from a self-in- 
duced hypnosis to find how true is the adage : 

"There is a tide in the affairs of men, 
That taken at the flood leads on to fortune." 

They find, too, that the flood passed their way, but they 
were off chasing the shadows of hope — the illusions that 

141 



142 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

vanish when, sick at heart, they lay down the burdens 
of life. 

Paul Jones was a man of deeds, of quick impulse, and, 
above all, a man of enterprise. He believed with Poor 
Eichard, that if you wanted anything done, the best way 
is to do it yourself. Youth sometimes lacks judgment 
and discretion, but seldom enterprise and ambition. It is 
only the lack of talent or the capacity to use what 
measure God has given us to execute deeds, that in the 
judgment of men, some are called great. 

Though Jones had failed in his cherished plans to 
capture any considerable number of merchantmen; 
though he had not been successful in securing ransom 
from the wealthy cities by the sea, still the spectacle of 
an audacious Yankee brig and crew sailing the British 
main, spreading terror everywhere, and causing all mer- 
chantmen and coaling ships to proceed cautiously under 
convoy of two or more ships of war until far away 
from the English coasts, was a sad blow to the boasted 
navy of Great Britain. After the Drake and Serapis 
incidents, the burning of vessels in the harbor of White- 
haven, and the attempted descent on Leith, the mari- 
time power of England seemed to be waning. That it 
existed chiefly in point of numerical strength rather 
than efficiency and boldness to meet and battle with the 
fleets of the world, there was no longer any doubt in the 
mind of Captain Jones. 

"Looked at in the calm light of history, the achieve- 
ments of Paul Jones do not appear,'^ says Abbott, "so 
very remarkable. It is none the less true, however, that 
they have never been paralleled." Before the days of 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 143 

Paul Jones, no hostile vessel had ever swept the English 
Channel and Irish Sea clear of British merchantmen, 
and since the days of Paul Jones the exploit has never 
been repeated, save by the little American brig Argus, 
in the war of 1812. But never before nor since has the 
spectacle of a British ship in an English port, blazing 
with fire applied by the torch of an enemy, been seen, 
and no other man than Paul Jones has, for several cen- 
turies, led an invading force down the level highways, 
and across the green fields of England. 

The Serapis had been completely dismantled in the 
engagement with the Bon Homme Eichard, and it was 
necessary to put into the nearest friendly port for re- 
pairs. Dunkirk, a French port at the lower end of the 
Straits of Dover, and but a league or so from the Bel- 
gium frontier, was one of the three cities Franklin, in 
his letter to Jones, under date of June 30th, 1779, des- 
ignated as a suitable port to dispose of such prizes as 
he might take in his cruise, but as Dunkirk had not the 
facilities for refitting a man-of-war, Jones decided to 
sail for Amsterdam by the way of the Texel, where the 
Indian, a vessel that had long been promised him by 
the Congress, was building. He accordingly gave in- 
structions for his little fleet to make for the Texel, 
where he arrived on the afternoon of October 3rd, 1779, 
with all the prisoners (504) that he had taken in the 
surrender of the Serapis and sundry other British craft, 
including the Countess of Scarborough. 

Captain Jones expected to return to France with an 
array of prizes that, in themselves, would make a for- 
midable navy when properly equipped ; he also expected 



144 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to return with sufficient ransom, exacted from the 
municipalities along the coast, to satisfy the require- 
ments of the Commissioners at Paris and the Marine 
Committee who had sent him on his eventful cruise. 
He was returning now without ransom, and with but 
two prizes, both of which were very much in need of 
repair after the recent engagement in which they sur- 
rendered when in an almost sinking condition. He 
was returning, too, with less than half of the fleet that 
gave so much promise when it left Brest a month be- 
fore. The Bon Homme Eichard had gone to its grave 
in the North Sea, but not until it had achieved for its 
commander an imperishable fame; and those little 
French privateers had also gone, no one knows where, 
for they never returned to France. The two wrecked 
prize ships and the Alliance, the Pallas and the Ven- 
geance were all that was left of the fleet that had cost 
Franklin and his associates hundreds of thousands of 
dollars and many laborious months of toil. 

The inexcusable blunder of the stupid Landais in fir- 
ing into the Bon Homme Richard when that vessel and 
the Serapis were lashed together and the crews fighting 
a deadly hand-to-hand conflict, was the accredited cause 
of the final destruction of the Bon Homme Richard, 
which sank a few hours after Captain Jones had trans- 
ferred his crew and prisoners to the Serapis. This ves- 
sel suffered more above the water's edge, from fire and 
shot, than the Bon Homme Richard, but the hull of the 
latter had been pierced by more than a dozen 12-pound 
balls from the Alliance, which was given by Jones as the 
direct cause of its sinking. 



•• 

AA 



— _ Route of Ranger 
.^ Route of Bon Homme Richard 
o-o Route of Alliance 
~^»>OUTF OF 8EftAP!S 

SCALE OF MILES 



AUG. 31 







Map showing the cruises of the Ranker, The Bon Homme Richard, the Al- 
liance and the S^rapis in English waters. After the destruction of the Ron 
Homme Richard in its memorable enijagement with the Serapis, September 
23, 1779. the latter became Jones' flag ship, and accompanied by the Alli- 
ance, with the prize Countess of Scarborough in tow headed for the Texel. 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 145 

As soon as Captain Jones reached Amsterdam, 
whither he had gone from the Texel, he sent Franklin 
an account of the engagement with the Serapis and 
Countess of Scarborough, a summary of which is given 
in the preceding chapter. In replying, Franklin con- 
gratulated Captain Jones on his splendid victory, say- 
ing : "For some days after the arrival of your express, 
scarcely anything was talked of at Paris and Versailles, 
but your cool conduct and persevering bravery during 
that terrible conflict. You may believe that the im- 
pression on my mind was not less strong than that of 
others — but I do not choose to say in a letter to your- 
self all I think on such an occasion.'' In the same 
lengthy letter Franklin severely criticised the conduct 
of Landais, whom Minister de Sartin, as well as the 
French court, would hold responsible for the loss of the 
Bon Homme Eichard, together with the lives of some 
twelve or fifteen American and French marines killed 
by the crew of the Alliance during the engagement with 
the Serapis. 

Eeferring to Landais in a subsequent letter to Cap- 
tain Jones, Franklin says : "I have accordingly written 
him, that he is charged with disobedience of orders in 
the cruise, and neglect of his duty in the engagement; 
that a court-martial being at this time inconvenient, if 
not impracticable, I would give him an earlier oppor- 
tunity of offering what he has to say in his justification, 
and for that purpose direct him to render himself, im- 
mediately here, bringing with him such papers or testi- 
monies as he may think useful in his defense. I know 
not whether he will obey my orders, nor what the min- 



146 John Paul Joues of Naval Fame. 

istry would do with him if he comes ; but I suspect that 
they may, by some of their concise operations, save the 
trouble of a court-martial. It will, however, be well 
for you to furnish me with what you may judge proper 
to support the charges against him, that I may be able 
to give a just and clear account to Congress. In the 
meantime it will be necessary, if he should refuse to 
come, that you should put him under arrest, and in that 
case, as well as if he comes, that you should either ap- 
point some person to the command, or take it upon 
yourself ; for I know of no person to recommend to you 
as fit for that station. 

"I am uneasy about your prisoners, (504 in number) 
— I wish they were safe in France. You will then have 
completed the glorious work of giving liberty to all the 
Americans that have so long languished for it in Brit- 
ish prisons.'^ 

From this it appears that on the two cruises made by 
Captain Jones in the Ranger and the Bon Homme 
Richard along the coasts of England, Ireland and Scot- 
land, in search of prizes, he took enough prisoners to 
effect the exchange of every American carried in captiv- 
ity to England. For this alone Paul Jones should be 
held in grateful remembrance, for when we recall the 
brutal treatment many of our unfortunate soldiers re- 
ceived at the hands of such fiends as Cunningham, the 
notorious Provost at Philadelphia and New York, into 
whose hands Nathan Hale was consigned to await exe- 
cution, we cannot but rejoice that the number of pris- 
oners carried to England in the holds of cattle ships 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 147 

and slavers, did not exceed the number of English 
taken by Paul Jones. 

It was fortunate that America found sympathizers on 
the other side of the Atlantic, for in addition to the 
substantial aid she received in the vray of ships, men, 
munitions and money, the harbors of France at all 
times, and Spain and Holland conditionally, were open 
to vessels carrying the flag of America. France was in 
an open state of war with England, growing out of 
her alliance with the Colonies, but Holland claimed 
neutrality, though it was from Amsterdam that France 
obtained most of her maritime stores. Holland was ill- 
prepared for war, but could not ignore the peremptory 
demands of Sir Joseph York, the British Ambassador, 
at The Hague, that "the captured frigates should be 
stopped at the Texel — the frigates taken by one Paul 
Jones, a subject of the King of Great Britain, who, ac- 
cording to treaties and the laws of war falls under the 
class of rebels and pirates." 

The little Dutch provinces were placed in a perplex- 
ing attitude. They did not wish to offend the young 
Trans-Atlantic republic struggling for an independent 
existence, nor yet did they wish to alienate the close 
bonds of friendship existing between them and France, 
so a vacillating policy was adopted — temporizing, as it 
were, with great dexterity; but the demand of Sir 
Joseph York was of such a firm nature that the Dutch 
authorities compelled Captain Jones to forthwith put 
to sea. They not only declined to pass on the validity 
of captures in the open seas of vessels not belonging 
to their own subjects, but they forbade the ships to be 



148 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

furnished with naval or warlike stores, save such as 
were absolutely necessary to carry them to the first 
foreign port. 

It is plain why Franklin wished Jones to proceed to 
the Texel after a cruise in British waters; the Indian, 
built presumably for France, but which in reality was 
intended for the colonies, was riding at anchor in the 
harbor at Amsterdam. It was to be completed about 
August 15th, at which time Franklin had directed 
Jones to proceed to Holland and await further orders, 
evidently to be prepared to take the ship out at once. 

Zuider Zee is an arm of the North Sea, about thirty 
miles in width and sixty in length. The Texel is an 
island lying just without the entrance to the Zee, and 
for more than a thousand years has offered protection 
to vessels of all nations seeking shelter in time of 
storms. Armed ships of war, with or without prizes, 
were not permitted by the Dutch government to stop 
here or dispose of goods or prizes taken in times of 
war, but were compelled to put to sea or seek shelter 
on some other coast. This being an established law 
and recognized by the nations bordering on the North 
Sea, no exception could be made in the case of Paul 
Jones, and though Holland did not conceal her sym- 
pathy for the oppressed Colonies in America, the de- 
termined spirit of the British Ambassador would not 
permit Jones to remain in neutral territory. As it 
was, all England was alarmed at the frequent depre- 
dations made by the bold Yankee, and the mysterious 
movements of the Bon Homme Eichard, Pallas, Ven- 
geance and the Alliance were giving the King and 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 149 

Parliament no end of anxiety. They remembered the 
engagement with the Drake and the Union, two armed 
ships of war, and the numberless craft belonging to 
the merchant marine that had been sunk or carried 
off as prizes; but the capture of the Serapis and the 
Countess of Scarborough had thrown the three king- 
doms of Great Britain into a panic bordering on frenzy. 
When the news of the surrender of the Serapis reached 
London, a dozen of the largest warships started in 
pursuit. They learned of the direction taken by Jones 
from incoming merchantmen who had sighted the Yan- 
kee fleet bearing in a southeasterly direction. Surmis- 
ing that the enemy had gone to Holland, the British 
fleet steered for the Texel, which they reached within 
a week after the capture of the Serapis. They found 
Jones resting quietly in the shelter of a small cove or 
inlet on the south end of the island. Captain Jones 
knew that when news of the battle reached London 
redoubled efforts would be made to capture him and 
reclaim the Serapis and Countess of Scarborough; so 
preparations had been made to give the enemy a warm 
reception. 

When Jones saw that he would have to fight six 
vessels instead of one, and not wishing to depend on 
the other ships of his fleet for support or assistance, 
and still further remembering that the 504 prisoners 
he then had meant the liberation of just that number 
of Americans whose re-enlistment under his command 
would go a long way toward equipping his proposed 
squadron, he decided to make his escape and proceed to 
Amsterdam. Once there he would gain time by enter- 



150 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ing into diplomatic correspondence with Franklin, 
Eobert Morris, the French Ambassador at The Hague, 
and many others, including M. Dumas, the newly ap- 
pointed agent of American affairs at Amsterdam. He 
would also be in a position to demand of Franklin the 
Indian, the ship that had long been promised him, 
both by Congress and the Commissioners at Paris. 

The British Ambassador was at first mild in his 
demands on the Dutch government for the dismissal 
of Jones from the Texel, but now that the "bold Yan- 
kee pirate" had actually entered the harbor of Amster- 
dam, where he had established a temporary hospital, his 
ano^er and threats knew no bounds. Unless Jones sur- 
rendered the two captured British ships of war, or an 
effort was made by the Dutch government to force 
Jones to leave Holland, he would urge his government 
to declare the sheltering of Jones an unfriendly act and 
a violation of treaty alliances, which would be equiva- 
lent to a declaration of war. Sir Joseph York knew of 
the presence of a powerful British fleet watching the 
movements of Jones and if he could, by threats, prevail 
upon the Dutch authorities to drive him from Amster- 
dam, the fleet without the Texel would have little 
trouble in effecting his capture. 

Jones was beginning to realize his desperate condi- 
tion, but in order to gain time, and when opportunity 
offered, make his escape, he wrote the French Ambassa- 
dor at The Hague as follows : 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 151 

On hoard the Bon Homme Richard's prize the ship of 
war Serapis, at the Texel, November J^th 1779. 

My Lord — This morning the commandant of the 
Eoad sent me word to come and speak to him on board 
his ship. He had before him on the table a letter which 
he said was from the Prince of Orange. He questioned 
me very closely whether I had a French commission, 
and if I had he insisted upon seeing it. I told him 
that my French commission not having been found 
among my papers since the loss of the Bon Homme 
Richard, I feared it had gone to the bottom in that 
ship ; but that, if it was really lost, it would be an easy 
matter to procure a duplicate of it from France. The 
Commandant appeared to be very uneasy and anxious 
for my departure. I have told him that as there are 
eight of the enemy's ships laying in wait for me at 
the south entrance, and four more at the north entrance 
of the port, I was unable to fight more than three times 
my force, but that he might rest assured of my inten- 
tion to depart with the utmost expedition whenever I 
found a possibility to go clear. > 

I should be very happy, my lord, if I could tell you 
of my being ready. I should have departed long ago 
if I had met with common assistance, but for a fort- 
night past I have every day expected the necessary 
supply of water from Amsterdam in cisterns and I am 
last night informed that it cannot be had without I 
send up water casks. The provisions, too, that was 
ordered the day I returned to Amsterdam from The 
Hague is not yet sent down; and the spars that have 
been sent from Amsterdam are spoiled in the making. 



152 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

None of the iron work that was ordered for the Serapis 
is yet completed. 

Thus you see, my lord, that my prospects are far 
from pleasing. I have few men, and they are dis- 
contented. If you can authorize me to promise them, 
at all hazards, that their property in the prizes shall 
be made good, and that they shall receive the necessary 
clothing and bedding, etc., or money to buy them, I 
believe I shall soon be able to bring them again into a 
good humor. In the meantime I will send a vessel 
or two out to reconnioter the offing and to bring me 
word. Whatever may be the consequences of my having 
put into this harbor I must observe that it was done 
contrary to my opinion, and I consented to it only 
because the majority of my colleagues were earnest for 
it. I am, yours, etc., John Paul Jones. 

After spending almost three months in correspond- 
ence, mostly of a semi-diplomatic nature, but all of 
more or less complaining character with the evident 
purpose of gaining time, hoping that the ship Indian 
would be completed and made ready for sea, Jones 
decided to attempt an escape to some less hostile port, 
there to await the completion of the vessel so long 
promised him. His presence longer might not only 
result in an open conflict between England and Hol- 
land, but it was daily rendering his escape more diffi- 
cult. In addition to the dozen armed ships of war 
lying in wait at the Texel, a merchant marine of nearly 
half a hundred vessels had congregated at the entrance 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 153 

to the Zuider Zee ready to give the alarm when the 
Yankee fleet made its appearance. 

Jones had not been wholly inactive during his stay 
at Amsterdam. He had refitted and reprovisioned all 
of his vessels for a month's cruise, though his destina- 
tion upon leaving Amsterdam was Brest, scarcely three 
days' sail barring accidents, incidents and inclement 
weather. The Pallas, having returned from a short 
reconnoitre with reports that the south pass was free 
of armed ships with only two or three small sail guard- 
ing the exit, Jones made haste to depart. Leaving 
Amsterdam on Christmas night, when the entire popu- 
lace was at church or gathered around the yule log or 
the Christmas green, Jones set out for the Texel, which 
he reached during the night of December 26th. 

Early on the morning of the 27th a small coasting 
sloop sounded the alarm of escape and started in pur- 
suit, but a shot from the Alliance, now commanded by 
Jones, sent that sail and its crew to the bottom. The 
alarm had reached the other vessels that were guarding 
the lower coast and they joined in the chase. Jones, 
not caring to be intercepted by more than one ship of 
war, did not remain behind to effect any captures, but 
as quickly as a vessel manifested its intentions of fol- 
lowing the Alliance, Jones would drop anchor and 
await its approach, and when within speaking distance 
a well directed shot usually ended the cruise of some 
brave but unwise officer of his Majesty's service. More 
than a dozen haughty little craft, some from curiosity, 
others to give battle, but all with the evident intent of 
delaying Jones until the armed ships could come up, 



154 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ventured too near, with the result that none of them 
returned to relate their experience with the Yankee 
fleet. 

Long before sunset the little squadron had gained 
the open sea, leaving the pursuers far in the rear. 
When the crews on board the twelve warships learned 
of the escape of their prey that had been locked in the 
harbor at Amsterdam for three months, they declared 
that Jones was in league with satan, and when they 
found that more than a dozen sail with their crews had 
been destroyed, their fears were intensified ten-fold. 
No attempt was made to follow the Alliance, or the 
Serapis, late of the British navy but now "the terror 
of the sea and manned by demons flying the black flag.^' 

When Jones left Amsterdam he changed flagships; 
the Alliance, while no larger, was better equipped than 
the Serapis, and possessed greater speed, which was 
the one thing that Jones desired most in a ship of war. 
While he wanted to go in harm's way, he also wished 
to get out of harm's way when outnumbered or when 
a superior force was sent against him. On the evening 
of the 27th Captain Jones wrote M. Dumas at Amster- 
dam, as follows: 

Alliance at Sea, 27th December, 1779. 
Hon. M. Dumas: 

I am here, my dear sir, having successfully evaded 
the enemy without the Texel. There is a good north 
by east wind and I am flying my best American colors. 
So far you have your wish. What may be the event 



Ordered to Leave Amsterdam. 155 

of this critical moment I know not ; I am not, however, 
without good hopes. * * * 

In his journal prepared for Louis XVI, Captain 
Jones says he passed along the Flemish banks and 
getting the windward side of the British fleet of obser- 
vation in the North Sea, passed through the Straits of 
Dover, in full view of the enemy's fleets on the Dover 
coasts. The following day Jones ran the Alliance past 
the Isle of Wight in sight of many British ships at 
Spithead, and within the next two days got safely 
through the channel, having passed to the windward of 
several large British cruisers. He steered to the south- 
ward, cruising for some days without incident off Cape 
Finisterre. On the 16th of January, 1780, a heavy 
gale blew from the west, and lest it drive the ships on 
the rocks, and knowing his safety in entering a Spanish 
port, he sought anchorage in the harbor of Corogne. Here 
he was kindly received; his fame and daring had pre- 
ceded him even to this remote peninsula in the South. 
On the 10th of February, after an uneventful cruise at 
sea, he arrived at Groix, having no other prizes than 
the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, together 
with his 504 prisoners. 

His loss had been heavy — not a third of the men that 
sailed from Brest the preceding August returned with 
him in February. Besides the loss of the Bon Homme 
Eichard, estimates place the number of men lost on 
that ship during its remarkable engagement with the 
Serapis at 300 out of 375, but that doubtless includes 
the sick and wounded left in hospitals at Amsterdam. 
From Groix the fleet sailed for L' Orient, where Cap- 



156 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

tain Jones lost no time in having the Alliance refitted; 
the French ministry had demurred in incurring fur- 
ther expense on account of Paul Jones and the Amer- 
ican ship, but having met and overcome vastly greater 
obstacles, so small a matter was scarcely taken notice 
of. Even Franklin showed his penuriousness and un- 
concern for the valiant services Jones had rendered the 
Colonies, by exclaiming : "The whole expense will fall 
upon me, and I am ill provided to bear it, having so 
many expected calls upon me from all quarters, I there- 
fore beg that you would have mercy on me, put me to 
as little charge as possible and take nothing you can 
possibly do without. As to sheathing with copper, it is 
totally out of the question." 

All necessary repairs were made, however, and by 
the 26th of April the Alliance was pronounced by Jones 
to be one of the most complete frigates in France. 
Neither in his correspondence nor his journal does 
he speak of the expense or who paid for its refitting, 
but it is not at all unlikely that the cost of refitting the 
Alliance fell on Franklin and the French ministry. 
Paul Jones never begrudged nor even considered the 
item of expense when necessity -demanded it, and on 
this occasion his liberality of spirit outran the frugal 
genius of Franklin, and the illiberal jealousy of the 
corrupt ministry at Passy. 



CHAPTEE X. 

PAUL JONES IN FRANCE — SAILS FOR AMERICA. 

Leaving the Alliance and its crew at L'Orient, Cap- 
tain Jones hastened to Versailles to quiet the talk about 
the division of honors in the recent engagements be- 
tween the Eanger and the Drake and the Bon Homme 
Richard and the Serapis. Upon his return to France, 
Landais began to circulate false rumors concerning 
Jones' character and the part he took in the long cruise 
in English waters. The reader has been made ac- 
quainted with the cowardly, traitorous and extremely 
selfish character of Landais, which in contrast to the 
bold, unselfish and magnanimous spirit of Paul Jones 
makes the capacity of the two men all the more con- 
spicuous. Words are inadequate to express the con- 
tempt in which the former's name was held by Frank- 
lin, Deane and the Marine Committee, as well as Wash- 
ington and the Congress. 

Landais was not content in his efforts to detract from 
Jones' well earned reputation, but he set up a claim for 
a share of the prize money not only for the Serapis, 
the Countess of Scarborough, the Drake and several 
merchantmen, captured during the recent cruise, but 
also for the prizes he himself disposed of in Norway. 
About the only means Captain Jones had to meet his 
incidental expenses was from the sale of stores taken 

157 



158 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

from merchantmen and ships that he captured at the 
cost of life and danger of total annihilation or capture ; 
it was the latter he stood most in fear of, for it would 
have meant an ignominous death on the gallows; shot 
and shell had no terrors for him. The prizes them- 
selves, that would have afforded him a goodly sum with 
which to carry on his operations in British waters, were 
either surreptitiously stolen by Landais, whom Jones 
would have been justified in sending to the yardarm, or 
else they were confiscated by the Ministry to further 
the ambition of men little more worthy than Landais to 
defend the Declaration of American Independence. 

If Paul Jones was ever to realize his ambition to 
command a formidable European squadron flying the 
American colors, one thing was certain, and that was 
that he should have been given unlimited orders with 
authority to enlist and punish for disobedience every 
man who was to serve under him, and the right to dis- 
pose of his prizes wherever and at such times as he saw 
fit. But this was so long denied him, that when it did 
come, the enemy, realizing the hopelessness of its cause, 
was offering terms of peace that would permit an early 
and honorable termination of hostilities. 

Although Jones keenly felt the attempt to rob him of 
his well earned glory, he lost no time in placing himself 
in a favorable light before the Ministry and American 
Commissioners, a majority of whom believed in his in- 
tegrity as well as seamanship. In his absence Landais 
prevailed upon the crew of the Alliance, most of whom 
had served under him, to rebel against the authority of 
Jones and to demand their share of the prize money. 






Sails for America. 159 

Upon his arrival at Versailles Jones found it neces- 
sary to submit his demands for his and his men's share 
of the prize money, first to the Minister of Marine, who 
in turn was to lay the claim before the proper tribunal. 
The Minister, M. de Sartin, had just gone to Paris, to 
which place Jones hastened with all possible speed. 
Arriving at Paris Captain Jones found his name on all 
tongues, and his exploits the one topic of general con- 
versation. On the boulevards, in the cafes, clubs and 
public houses — wherever men and women congregated, 
the story of the terrific sea-battle between the Bon 
Homme Richard and the Serapis, was discussed with as 
much enthusiasm as was the Battle of Manila Bay 
when news of that glorious victory reached America. 
The stories, depicting Paul Jones in piratical garb, 
flying the black flag from the masts of a ship painted 
within and without with tar, had without reason or 
justice made his name synonymous with that of the 
famous Captain Kidd, a fellow countryman of his, as 
well as many noted pirates then infesting the Mediter- 
ranean, Gulf of Mexico and West Indian waters. 

After submitting his claims, together with some mat- 
ters of importance pertaining to future operations that 
properly came before the Ministry, such as making 
known his desire to take yet another vessel beside the 
Alliance back to America, Jones set out on a tour of the 
chief cities of France as the nation's honored guest. 
Wherever he went, even to the remote towns and vil- 
lages of the Kingdom, "he received the most flattering 
applause and public approbation.'' Both the great and 



160 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

learned sought his acquaintance in audience as well as 
in private life and honored him with particular marks 
of friendship. At Court he was received with a kind- 
ness which could only have arisen from a fixed esteem 
and a well earned reputation. He was everywhere 
toasted and honored ; Court dignitaries, their wives and 
eminent personages in all walks of life, vied in their 
attentions. The King, Louis XVI, ever loyal to the 
Colonies, presented him with a gold sword, and permis- 
sion was requested and granted by the American Con- 
gress to invest him with the Military Order of Merit, 
an honor which had never before been conferred on any 
one who had not actually borne arms under the Com- 
mission of France. All these honors were proudly re- 
ceived and did equal honor to the royal donor and the 
individual distinguished by his favor. 

The French Ministry, King and populace, were in 
the proper mood to bestow whatever favors Jones might 
ask, and as might be expected, his request was for an- 
other vessel to accompany the Alliance, which was 
about to sail for America ; so the Ariel was ordered put 
into commission to be placed '^under command of Ad- 
miral Chevelier John Paul Jones of the American and 
French navy.^' While basking in the sunshine of royal 
favor, caressed by courtiers and smiled upon by the 
fair, everything on board the Alliance — Jones' proper 
scene of action — was going to destruction. Imagine 
his dismay when he returned to L' Orient to find that 
the wretched and traitorous Landais had departed with 
his newly refitted ship, the Alliance ! 

Inquiry elicited the fact that the mutiny originated 



Sails for America. 161 

with Arthur Lee, who had been sent to France by the 
Congress to co-operate with Benjamin Franklin and 
Silas Deane, Commissioners on behalf of the United 
States. Though Lee rendered valuable service to the 
Colonies, while a Commissioner to France, Spain and 
Prussia, and in the Continental Congress, yet he was 
insanely jealous of Franklin, and the favors the laLter 
received, not only from Congress, but from almost every 
Court and Court dignitary in Europe. This only 
aroused Lee's anger the more, but whenever he saw an 
opportunity to humiliate and annoy Franklin or to 
show his animosity toward his old colleagues in Europe, 
he never lost an opportunity. 

There was no doubt in the minds of Franklin and 
Deane, or even de Sartin and others connected with 
the French Ministry, that the sudden departure of the 
Alliance with Landais in command had its inception 
in the mind of Lee, for inquiry instituted immediately 
upon the arrival of the Alliance at- Boston, showed that 
not only had Lee gone to America on the Alliance, but 
that he and Landais had been much together at L' Ori- 
ent during the absence of Captain Jones in Paris. The 
investigation into the conduct of Landais, both in the 
Serapis affair and the unexpected appearance of the 
Alliance in American waters without any communica- 
tion from Captain Jones, resulted in Landais' peremp- 
tory dismissal from the service of the United States. 
Court martial proceedings were begun within a fort- 
night after his arrival in America, but from the defiant 
attitude assumed by Landais and his persistent attempt 
to blacken the character and to cast reflections on Cap- 



162 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

tain Jones^ integrity and loyalty to the Colonies, who 
was everywhere heralded as "a hero of imperishable 
fame/' he was declared to be mentally unbalanced and 
wholly irresponsible. Out of charity for the man, and 
the good feeling existing between France and America, 
immediate dismissal with a scathing denunciation by 
the presiding officer at the trial, was deemed a suffi- 
cient punishment. 

Here, even at this early day, we see manifested to a 
marked degree the spirit of liberality on the part of the 
judiciary, approved by the legislative and executive 
branches of our government, that is manifestly Ameri- 
can in its conception. The effect of this decision, which 
was the first judicial act of the navy department, has 
left an abiding influence upon the life, character and 
the institutions of the American people. It is there- 
fore all the more galling that so brave and generous a 
man as Winfield Scott Schley, the hero of Santiago, 
should have been humiliated by the findings of a court 
of naval inquiry when the facts justified a far different 
result. 

Franklin was not unaware of the discontent exist- 
ing on board the Alliance, for in a note to Captain 
Jones received after the departure of that vessel, Frank- 
lin says : "Saturday morning, I received a letter signed 
by about 115 of the sailors of the Alliance, declaring 
that they would not raise the anchor, nor depart from 
L'Orient, till they had six months' wages paid them, 
and the utmost farthing of their prize-money, includ- 
ing the ships sent into Norway, and until their legal 
Captain, P. Landais, was restored to them. This mu- 



Sails for America. 163 

tiny has undoubtedly been excited by that Captain; 
probably by making them believe that satisfaction has 
been received for those Norway prizes delivered up to 
the English/' 

It will be noticed that in Franklin's communication, 
he does not even mention Lee, whom he undoubtedly 
knew had been staying at L' Orient during the entire 
absence of Captain Jones in his triumphant tour of 
France. On more than one occasion Franklin had been 
an unwilling listener to Lee's unjust condemnation of 
the action of Jones in reporting Landais' conduct 
which Lee did not consider mutinous, but simply his 
right to act independently of Jones whenever he 
thought the judgment of Landais justified such ac- 
tion. The subsequent conduct of both Jones and Lan- 
dais showed the short-sightedness of Arthur Lee, and 
adds yet another proof of the world's correct estimate 
of that far-seeing, wise, prudent, just, cautious, yet 
withal, frugal man — Benjamin Franklin. 

France was now in the midst of her war with Eng- 
land. Fearing the return of Captain Jones with gov- 
ernment aid to restrain the sailors on the Alliance from 
carrying out the threat they made in their petition to 
Franklin, and in addition, anticipating an early visit 
of British war-ships to the harbor of L'Orient, Landais 
ordered the anchor raised, and on the morning of June 
30th, the Alliance set sail for America, having on board 
Arthur Lee, one of the three commissioners from the 
United States to the Court of France. 

Captain Jones, learning of the dissatisfaction exist- 
ing on board the Alliance, made desperate efforts to 



164 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

reach L'Orient in order to restore confidence, as well as 
to reassure the crew that they would be paid every dol- 
lar that was due them in salary, as well as their share 
of the prize money. Owing to a series of unavoidable 
delays by boat and stage, with a still more vexatious 
delay of 54 hours at Versailles, on account of diplo- 
matic complications arising through the investigation 
of the British Consul, Jones did not arrive at Brest, 
to which point he learned the Alliance had set sail, 
until the morning of the 2nd of July, too late to over- 
take Landais and his motley crew, who had decamped 
the night before. 

Captain Jones could do nothing but return to Paris 
to consult Franklin about another command, and to 
complete arrangements for equipping, manning and pro- 
visioning the Ariel, which was presented to him by the 
Ministry through de Sartin, Late in November, Mr. 
Temple Franklin, grandson of Benjamin Franklin, 
and Secretary of the Commission at Paris, received the 
following note from a Doctor Cooper, of Boston, a 
friend of Franklin's and an influential citizen in Amer- 
ica, bearing the date of September 8th, 1783: "The 
Alliance arrived here some weeks ago, with Dr. Lee, 
who is still in town. This vessel appears to me to have 
left France in an unjustifiable manner, though I cannot 
yet tell the particular circumstances. Landais did not 
hold his command through the voyage, which was either 
relinquished by him or wrested from him. All the 
passengers, as well as officers and sailors, are highly 
incensed against him, and Dr. Lee as much as any one. 
A court of inquiry is now sitting upon this matter, in 



Sails for America. 165 

which the Doctor has given a full evidence against the 
Captain, which represents him as insane." 

As has been noted, the French Court had presented 
Captain Jones with the ship Ariel, which, with the 
Alliance, was to carry him in triumph to America, so 
that he might receive the plaudits of a grateful people 
who then, as now, have never ceased to honor the name 
of the founder of the American navy. 

Both Franklin and Jones had grave fears on account 
of the distressed condition of Washington's army, and 
though Jones had endeavored to secure a larger vessel 
than the Ariel so as to enable him to carry greater re- 
inforcements to the Americans, yet his thoughts were 
so strongly fixed on giving immediate aid to Washing- 
ton that he made haste to depart at once. 

Before her war with France, England had sent all 
her ships to America save a few of inferior force, which 
were kept in English waters to protect the merchant 
marine. Having succeeded in drawing England and 
France into war, Jones realized that it would be neces- 
sary for Parliament to recall at least half her ships 
under the command of Admiral Howe, and in so doing 
his place was then in iVmerica where, by quick decisive 
action, the war could be brought to an early and glori- 
ous termination. He therefore made haste to depart. 

The voyage in the Ariel was begun on the 8th of Oc- 
tober, but when about twelve hours out from Brest, 
where the vessel touched before beginning her trans- 
Atlantic voyage, a tremendous gale arose which con- 
tinued with unabated fury for many days. After bat- 
tling with the elements until the ship was in an almost 



166 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

sinking condition, Captain Jones decided to return to 
L'Orient, where he arrived October 13th. Upon reach- 
ing port it was found necessary to dispose of the stores 
and unship all arms and ammunition, for it would 
likely be some weeks before the necessary repairs could 
be made and then fresh provisions and powder would be 
required before the ship was again ready for its long 
voyage to America, which it was hoped would be more 
successful than the previous attempt. 

Franklin had remonstrated with Jones when the ex- 
pense of refitting the Alliance came before the Com- 
mission, but, the latter heeded not the frugal Franklin's 
council, and had the Alliance equipped with the best 
that money could procure, and had the bills sent to 
him and the French court for payment. After the loss 
of the Alliance through the treachery of Landais, the 
Ministry immediately presented Captain Jones with the 
Ariel, which had been repaired during his sojourn at 
Paris two weeks before; but now that the latter had 
returned in a dilapidated condition caused by the viol- 
ence of the elements, the Ministry, though more espe- 
cially Franklin, begrudged the necessary funds to place 
the vessel again in sea-worthy condition. Though con- 
senting to the refitting, Franklin could not resist an- 
other attempt to berate Captain Jones for the enormous 
expense to which he had been put in supplying new 
European outfits when Washington and his army in 
America were in sore straits for even food and cloth- 
ing, not to mention arms and ammunition. 

"I suppose," writes Franklin, "you thought it for the 
good of the service, as you say you did, to order that 



Sails for America, 167 

great quantity of medicine for your seventy-four gun 
ship, yet after what I had written you of my difficulties, 
it still seems to me that you ought not to have done it 
without informing me and obtaining my consent ; and I 
have only to be thankful that you did not order all the 
stores, sails and rigging, anchors, powder, etc., con- 
templated. I think you must be sensible, on reflec- 
tion, that with regard to me it was wrong, and that it 
ought not to be expected from me to be always ready 
and able to pay the demands that every officer in the 
service may saddle me with. This affair, however, is 
done with, and I shall say and think no more about it." 
Paul Jones had expected to return to America in 
the Alliance, but as it has been noted, he was prevented 
from doing so by Landais, who anticipated him in go- 
ing to America himself in the Alliance. It was ex- 
pected that the latter vessel would be ready for the voy- 
age by the 1st of June, and Captain Jones was endeav- 
oring to complete his mission, that of securing prize 
money and back pay for his men, together with an ad- 
ditional ship or two, in time to sail for America at the 
appointed time. While at Versailles Minister de Sar- 
tin, by order of the King, handed Captain Jones the 
following letter addressed to Mr. Hantenydon, Presi- 
dent of the Congress of the United States, to be pres- 
ented upon Captain Jones' arrival in America: 

"Versailles, 29th May, 1780. 
"Commodore Paul Jones, after having given to all 
Europe and, above all, to the enemies of France and of 
the United States, high proof of his valor and of his 



168 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

talents, is about to return to America, to give an ac- 
count to the Congress of the success of his military 
operations. I am aware, Sir, that the reputation he 
has so justly acquired will go before him, and that the 
history of his campaigns will be sufficient to prove to 
his countrymen that his abilities are equal to his cour- 
age; but the King has thought it right to join to the 
public voice his approbation and his bounty. He has 
charged me expressly to make known to you how much 
he is satisfied with the services of the Commodore, per- 
suaded that Congress will do him like justice. 

"His Majesty gives him a pledge of his esteem in 
bestowing on him the gift of a sword, which could not 
be placed in better hands, and now offers to Congress 
to decorate this brave officer with the cross of the order 
of Military Merit. His Majesty thinks that these pe- 
culiar distinctions, associating together in the same 
honors the subject of two countries united by similar 
interests^ may be regarded as another tie between them, 
and excite them to emulation in the common cause. 

"If having approved the conduct of the Commodore, 
it is judged fit to interest him with any new expedition 
in Europe, his Majesty will see him return with pleas- 
ure ; and he presumes Congress will refuse nothing that 
may be deemed necessary to promote the success of his 
enterprises. My personal esteem for the Commodore 
induces me to recommend him in a particular manner 
to you, Sir; and I venture to hope that, in the recep- 
tion which he may receive from Congress, he will per- 
ceive the fruits of the sentiments with which he has 
inspired me. 



Sails for America. 169 

"I have the honor to be your humble and very obedi- 
ent servant, etc., etc. de Sartin." 

Though this letter was written in May and after two 
ineffectual attempts to reach America, it was not until 
the 18th of December that Captain Jones addressed his 
farewell letters to Franklin, de Sartin and a number 
of distinguished court ladies and other dignitaries 
whom he had met on his triumphant tour through 
France and during his brief stay in Paris. Captain 
Jones did not overlook inditing a last farewell to the 
King who had come to look upon him as the greatest 
commander and naval hero of all time. 

Paul Jones was now at the height of his fame. His 
name and deeds were known in every hamlet through- 
out Europe and America. Having accomplished about 
all that he had set out to do — that of spreading alarm 
throughout England, destroying her commerce and 
proving that her famed maritime strength was an idle 
boast — he was now ready to return to America and re- 
ceive the thanks of the Congress that had sent him on 
his glorious mission and the plaudits of his country- 
men, who gave assurances that next only to Washington 
was his name honored among his four million countrymen 
in America. 



CHAPTER XL 

PAUL JONES IN AMERICA — THE BIRTH OF A NATION. 

Events in America were following each other in rapid 
succession. The dastardly attempt of Benedict Arn- 
old to deliver the American army over to Howe had 
been foiled and Andre had just been hanged for his 
connection in the affair; the battle of the Cowpens had 
been fought and won by the Americans. These, and 
the numerous expeditions fitted out in Europe for the 
defense of the Colonies gave renewed courage to the 
patriots, which only added to the troubles of the Brit- 
ish, thereby rend^ering hopeless their attempt to retain 
possession of the Colonies. La Fayette had returned 
to America after securing valuable aid in France; 
G'reene, Washington, Tartleton, Gates, Morgan, de 
Kalb, de Grasse, Pulaski, Rochambeau and others, were 
harassing the enemy on all sides, by land and by sea. 
Turn whichever way they would, Cornwallis and Clin- 
ton met with determined resistance and with increas- 
ing certainty of defeat. Gradually their armies were 
dwindling to small proportions until it became neces- 
sary for each to reinforce the other when occasion de- 
manded, thus keeping their forces continually on the 
move. 

On the 18th of February, in the midst of general re« 

170 



The Birth of a Nation. 171 

joicing over the great victory at the Cowpens, came 
the glad tidings that Commodore John Paul Jones 
had reached Philadelphia. The arch enemy of Great 
Britain — the most dreaded foe she had ever known, had 
returned to America and at a most critical time for her. 
Already there was a rift in the clouds that had hung 
like a pall over the country for seven long years — ^the 
sunlight of peace was breaking through, and there was 
universal rejoicing over the prospect of an early termi- 
nation of hostilities. 

When Howe learned of the arrival of Commodore 
Jones, he lost no time in calling in his patrol ships for 
fear of their meeting the "bold buccaneer." From the 
beginning of the war Lord Howe had little or no navy 
to contend with in America. The hundred or more 
ships under the command of his brother Admiral Rich- 
ard Howe patrolled the coast in order to prevent, if pos- 
sible, the landing of reinforcements from France and 
Spain, and to act in conjunction with the land forces 
in an attack upon the coast cities. Numerous as were 
the British ships and active as they were supposed to be 
it was a v/eekly occurrence for vessels to arrive or de- 
part for Europe by the southern route. LaFayette 
had made three passages and Paul Jones had met with 
little resistance in reaching Philadelphia; d'Estaing, 
Kochambeau and de Grasse had found no difficulty in 
forming squadrons in France and landing troops picked 
up at Brest, Passy, Bordeaux, Paris and Marseilles for 
the defense of the Colonies, where they rendered valua- 
ble aid in co-operating with the troops under Washing- 
ton. 



172 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Though his hopes were centered on reaching America 
at the earliest possible moment, Jones could not resist 
the temptation of keeping an eye open for straggling 
British ships with the hope that he might enter port 
with a string of trophies following in his wake, like 
the ancient mariners returning to the shores of the 
Aegean with an hundred triremes and as many gal- 
leys, to prove the valor of their arms. Though his 
voyage was fruitless, so far as prizes were concerned, 
yet it was not without incident. The Ariel encountered 
heavy seas during most of the voyage and had several 
small engagements with sailing craft, but of those cap- 
tured none were worth the trouble of bringing into 
port. The crews were taken prisoners, however, while 
the small crafts were sent to the bottom after every- 
thing of value had been transferred to the flagship. 

On the evening of the 1st of February, in latitude 
26 degrees north, in the same longitude as the Barba- 
does, and not more than twenty leagues to the north- 
ward, Jones records meeting with a remarkably fast 
sailing and heavily armed frigate belonging to the Brit- 
ish ; he endeavored to avoid an action, and as the night 
approached, he hoped to succeed, notwithstanding her 
superior sailing abilities. He was, however, mistaken, 
for the next morning the ships were at a less distance 
apart than they had been the evening before, although 
during the night the officers of the watch had informed 
Jones that the enemy continued out of sight. An ac- 
tion now became unavoidable, and we can be sure that 
the Ariel was not unprepared. She at once assumed 
the aggressive. Everything was thrown overboad that 



The Birtli of a Nation, 173 

interfered with the action and safety of the crew and 
ship. Captain Jones took particular care, by manage- 
ment of sail and helm, to prevent the enemy from dis- 
covering the force of the Ariel, and worked her so well 
as not to reveal any warlike appearance. 

In the afternoon, and about two hours before sun-set 
the Ariel now and then fired a light ^^stern-chaser" at 
the enemy from the quarter-deck and continued to crowd 
sail as if trying to escape. This had the desired effect, 
and the enemy pursued with greater eagerness. Jones 
did not permit the ship to come within pistol shot until 
the approach of night, when, having well examined his 
force, he shortened sail, to allow the enemy to overtake 
him. When the two ships came within hailing distance 
of each other they both hoisted English colors. The 
person whose duty it was to hoist the pendant on board 
the Ariel had not taken care to make the other end of 
the halliards fast, so as to be able to haul it down 
again to change colors. This prevented Jones from 
effecting the manoeuvre he had intended and forced him 
to let the enemy approach on the leeward side of the 
Ariel, where a battery ready for action could be plainly 
seen by the enemy. An interview now took place be- 
tween the two commanders which lasted nearly an hour, 
during which time Captain Jones learned the exact 
situation of affairs in America. The Captain of the 
enemy's ship gave his name as John Pindar. His ship, 
he said, had been commanded by a Mr. Peck of Boston, 
built at Newberryport, owned by a Mr. Tracy of that 
place, commanded by Captain Hopkins, the son of the 
late Commodore Hopkins, and had been refitted at New 



174 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

York, and named the Triumph, by Admiral Rodney. 

Captain Jones ordered Captain Pindar to let down 
a boat and come aboard the Ariel and show his com- 
mission, to prove whether or not he really did belong 
to the English navy. To this order Pindar made a 
number of excuses chief of which was that Captain 
Jones had not told him who he was, and that for all he 
knew he might be falling into the hands of "the pirate 
Paul Jones or some other traitor in the service of the 
rebels," and then again he gave as a further excuse 
that his small boat was unseaworthy and that there was 
great danger of being swamped in the heavy sea that 
was beating against his ship. Captain Jones repeated 
his command and told him not to delay another mo- 
ment but to lower his boat at once. Captain Pindar 
positively refused to comply with the request, and said 
that he would answer for twenty guns, and that himself 
and every one of his men had declared themselves 
Englishmen and given satisfactory evidence in proof of 
their assertions. Jones replied that he would give him 
just five minutes to lower his boat. The time having 
elapsed with no apparent disposition on the part of Cap- 
tain Pindar to comply with Jones' request, the Ariel 
backed a little and to one side and then ran close un- 
der the stern of the enemy's vessel, pulled down the 
English colors and hoisted the Stars and Stripes, and 
being within short pistol shot immediately began a ter- 
rific bombardment. 

It was half past seven in the evening, which seemed 
to be Captain Jones' favorite time for springing sur- 
prises on his antagonists. The engagement was brief but 



Tlie Birtli of a Nation. 175 

made a brilliant spectacle while it lasted. The enemy 
made a feeble resistance for about ten minutes and 
then ran up the white flag. The Captain begged for 
quarter, saying that half of his men were killed. When 
the Ariel's fire ceased, the crew, as usual after a victory, 
gave cries of joy, to "show themselves Englishmen." 
The enemy filled their sails and got clear of the Ariel 
before the cries of joy on the latter ship had ended. 
Jones suspecting the design of the enemy, immediately 
set every sail to prevent their escape; but having the 
advantage in sailing, the Triumph soon got beyond gun- 
shot of the Ariel. 

This account is taken partially from Jones' Journal, 
and partially from a copy of a Philadelphia paper bear- 
ing the date of February 20th, 1781. To the above ac- 
count Jones adds : "The English Captain may prop- 
erly be called a knave, because, after he surrendered his 
ship, begged for and obtained quarter, he basely ran. 
away, contrary to the laws of naval war and the practice 
of civilized nations. A conspiracy was discovered 
among the English part of the Ariel's crew immedi- 
ately after sailing from France. During the voyage 
every officer, and even the passengers, had been con- 
stantly armed and kept a regular watch, besides a con- 
stant guard with fixed bayonets. After the action with 
the Triumph the plot was so far discovered, that it was 
necessary to confine twenty of the ring-leaders in irons." 

Without further incident or delay the Ariel, proceed- 
ing on its voyage, reached Philadelphia shortly after 
sunrise on the 18th of February, 1781, having been ab- 
sent from America just three years, three months and 



176 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

eighteen days. In this brief lapse of time Paul Jones 
rose from poverty and obscurity to a place in history 
which age cannot efface; his fame seems to grow 
brighter as time goes on; while historians seem never 
to weary in recounting his glorious exploits in defense 
of the rights of man as against the divine rights of 
kings. 

A Board of Admiralty had been for some time or- 
ganized, and on this Board devolved the duty of in- 
quiry, while Congress almost simultaneously took up 
the Landais-Jones controversy. Forty-seven questions 
were asked of Jones, to all of which he was required to 
give answers in writing. He lost no time in complying 
with this order, and we may be sure that his answers 
to the official interrogatories were on all points ample, 
for it appears, they were satisfactory. The report of the 
Board to Congress through the Marine Committee, so 
far from being condemnatory, was highly flattering. 
Another report of the same Board will show the exact 
estimate placed upon his courage and integrity; it is 
as follows: 



"Admiralty Office, June 16th, 1781. 
"The Board, to whom was referred the letters and 
other papers relative to the conduct of John Paul Jones, 
Esquire, beg leave to report, that they have carefully 
perused said letters and papers, wherein they find fa- 
vorable mention is made of his abilities as an officer by 
the Duke de Vauguyon, M. de Sartin and Dr. Frank- 
lin; and this is also corroborated by that valor and in- 
trepidity with which he engaged his Britannic Majesty's 




MARQUIS OF LAFAYETTE. 



The Birtli of a Nation. 177 

ship, the Serapis, of forty-four cannon, twelve and 
eighteen pounders, who, after a severe contest for sev- 
eral hours, surrendered to his superior valor, thereby 
acquiring honor to himself and dignity to the Ameri- 
can flag. 

"The Board therefore humbly conceive that an hon- 
orable testimony should be given to Captain John 
Paul Jones, commander of the Bon Homme Eichard, 
his officers and crew, for their many singular services 
in annoying the enemy on the British coasts, and par- 
ticularly for their spirited behavior in an engagement 
with his Britannic Majesty's ship of war, the Serapis, 
on the 23rd of September, 1779, and obliging her to 
surrender to the American flag/' 

Another report from the same Committee, sent to 
Congress a week later speaks of the services of Captain 
Jones as follows: 

"With regard to Captain Jones, the Board beg leave 
to report, that the views of the Marine Committee in 
sending Captain Jones in the Eanger to France, were, 
that he might take the command of the Indian, a ship 
that was building at Amsterdam on a new construction, 
under a contract made by the Commissioners of these 
States at Paris, and with her, in concert with the 
Eanger, annoy the coasts and trade of Great Britain. 
When he arrived at Nantes, the Commissioners sent 
for him to Paris. After remaining there some time, 
he was informed that they had assigned their property 
in the ship Indian to the King of France. Captain 
Jones returned to Nantes, plans and undertakes a se- 
cret expedition in the Eanger." 



178 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

The report enters into a lengthy account of the va- 
rious services rendered by Jones while in Europe, and 
closes by saying: "Ever since Captain Jones first be- 
came an officer in the navy of these States, he hath 
shown an unremitting attention in planning and exe- 
cuting enterprises calculated to promote the essential 
interests of our glorious country. That in Europe, 
although in his expedition through the Irish Channel 
in the Kanger, he did not fully accomplish his purpose, 
yet he made the enemy feel that it is in the power of a 
small squadron, under a brave and enterprising com- 
mander, to retaliate the conflagration of our defense- 
less towns. That returning from Europe he brought 
with him the esteem of the greatest and best friends 
of America; and hath received from the illustrious 
monarch of France that reward of warlike virtue which 
his subjects receive by a long series of faithful service 
or uncommon merit. 

"The Board is of the opinion that the conduct of 
Paul Jones merits particular attention, and some dis- 
tinguished mark of approbation from the United States 
in Congress assembled." The following resolution nat- 
urally pleased Jones very much, for he often referred to 
it in after years as "a tribute worthy of any man's 
talents :" 

"By the United States In Congress Assembled, 
"Saturday, April 14th, 1781. 

"On the report of a committee consisting of Mr. Var- 
num, Mr. Houston, and Mr. Mathews, to which was re- 
ferred on motion of Mr. Varnum : 



The Birth of a Nation. 179 

"The United States, in Congress assembled, having 
taken into consideration the report of the Board of 
Admiralty of the 28th March last, respecting the con- 
duct of John Paul Jones, Esq., Captain in the navy, do 

^'Resolve, That the thanks of the United States in 
Congress assembled be given Captain John Paul Jones, 
for the zeal, prudence, and intrepidity with which he 
hath supported the honor of the American flag, for 
his bold and successful enterprise to redeem from cap- 
tivity the citizens of these States who had fallen under 
the power of the enemy, and in general for the good 
conduct and eminent services by which he has added 
a luster to his character and the American arms. 

"That the thanks of the United States in Congress 
assembled be also given to the officers and men who 
have faithfully served under him from time to time, 
for their steady affection to the cause of their coun- 
try, and the bravery and perseverance they have mani- 
fested therein.'' 

"Headquarters, New Windsor, 15th May, 1781. 
"To John Paul Jones, Esq. 

".Sir — My partial acquaintance with either our naval 
or commercial affairs makes it altogether impossible for 
me to account for the unfortunate delay of those ar- 
ticles of military stores and clothing which have been 
so long provided in France. 

"Had I had any particular reason to have suspected 
you of being accessory to that delay, which I assure 
you has not been the case, my suspicions would have 
been renioved by the very full and satisfactory answers 



180 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

which you have, to the best of my knowledge, made to 
the questions proposed to you by the Board of Ad- 
miralty, and upon which that Board has, in its Eeport 
to Congress, testified the high sense which they enter- 
tain of your merits and services. 

"Whether our naval affairs have in general been well 
or ill conducted would be presumptuous in me to de- 
termine. Instances of bravery and good conduct in 
several of our officers have not, however, been wanting. 
Delicacy forbids me to mention that particular one 
which has attracted the admiration of all the world, 
and which has influenced the most illustrious monarch 
to confer a mark of his favor which can only be ob- 
tained by a long and honorable service, or by the 
performance of some brilliant action. 

"That you may long enjoy the reputation you have so 
justly acquired is the sincere wish of. Sir, 

"Your most obedient servant, 

"George Washington." 

Thus we see with what ease the Board of Admiralty, 
sitting as an investigating Committee, completed its 
task and passed commendatory rather than condemna- 
tory judgment upon the conduct of Paul Jones, during 
the three and one-fourth years he was in command of 
American vessels in European waters. 

While the investigation was in progress Arthur Lee, 
who had aided Landais in his desertion of Jones and 
encouraged his mutinous conduct during the Drake and 
Serapis incidents, lost no opportunity to declare his be- 
lief in Jones' integrity and loyalty. Landais had been 



The Birth of a Nation. 181 

dismissed from the service of the United States with 
a severe reprimand and doubtless Lee realized that fu- 
ture favors at the hands of his countrymen could only- 
come by publicly declaring his belief in Jones, and thus 
be on the popular side of a very unpleasant and unfor- 
tunate incident in the closing scene of the nation^s long 
struggle for freedom. 

Within a fortnight after a public declaration of 
Jones^ honorable conduct in all his public career he 
was appointed by a unanimous vote of Congress to the 
command of the America, a magnificent vessel then 
building at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In order to 
superintend the final construction and properly equip 
the ship that was presented to him as a partial recog- 
nition of his services in behalf of the Colonies, Jones 
proceeded to Portsmouth where he remained some time. 
During the days of his comparative idleness he found 
time to carry on an extensive correspondence with those 
with whom he was more or less intimately associated 
both in Europe and America. In addition to this de- 
lightful recreation, he also found time to mature and 
arrange his ideas on the reorganization of the American 
navy. On the latter subject, the language used by 
Jones himself is the best evidence of his extensive 
nautical skill to plan and execute; it is therefore only 
fair to permit Jones to state in his own way his opin- 
ion concerning the needs of the infant Republic : 

He says: "The beginning of our navy, as navies 
now rank, was so singularly small, that I am of the 
opinion it has no precedent in history. Was it a proof 
of madness in the first corps of sea-officers to have, at 



182 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

so critical a period, launched out on the ocean with only 
two armed merchant ships, two armed brigantines, and 
one armed sloop, to make war against such a power as 
Great Britain? To be diffident is not always a proof 
of ignorance. I had sailed before this revolution in 
armed ships and frigates, yet, when I came to try my 
skill, I am not ashamed to own I did not find myself 
perfect in the duties of a first-lieutenant. If midnight 
study, and the instruction of the greatest and most 
learned sea-officers, can have given me advantages, I 
am not without them. I confess, however, I have yet to 
learn ; it is the work of many years' study and experi- 
ence to acquire the high degree of science necessary for 
a great sea-officer. Cruising after merchant ships, the 
service in which our frigates have generally been em- 
ployed, affords, I may say, no part of the knowledge 
necessary for conducting fleets and their operations. 
There is now, perhaps, as much difference between a 
battle between two ships, and an engagement between 
two fleets, as there is between a duel and a ranged bat- 
tle between two armies. The English, who boast so 
much of their navy, never fought a ranged battle on 
the ocean before the war that is now ended. The bat- 
tle off Ushant was, on their part, like their former 
ones, irregular; and Admiral Kippell could^ only 
justify himself by the example of Hawke in our re- 
membrance, and of Eussell in the last century. From 
that moment the English were forced to study and to 
imitate the French in their evolutions. They never 
gained any advantage when they had to do with equal 
force, and the unfortunate defeat of Count de Grasse 



The Birtli of a Nation. 183 

was owing more to the unfavorable circumstances of the 
wind coming ahead from points at the beginning of the 
battle, which put his fleet into the order of echiquier 
when it was too late to tack, and of calm and currents 
afterwards, which brought on an entire disorder, than 
to the admiralship, or even the vast superiority of Eod- 
ney, who had forty sail of the line against thirty, and 
five three deckers against one. By the account of some 
of the French officers, Rodney might as well have been 
asleep, not having made a signal during the battle, so 
that every Captain did as he pleased. 

"The English are very deficient in signals as well as 
in naval tactic. This I know, having in my possession 
their present fighting and sailing instructions, which 
comprehend all their signals and evolutions. Lord 
Howe has, indeed, made some improvements by bor- 
rowing from the French. But Kempenfelt, who seemed 
to have been a more promising officer, had made a still 
greater improvement by the same means. It was 
said of Kempenfelt, when he was drowned in 
the Royal George, that England had lost her 
Du Pavillion. That great man, the Chevalier Du 
Pavillion, commanded the Triumphant and was 
killed in the last battle of Count de Grasse. France 
lost in him one of the greatest naval tacticians, and a 
man who had, besides, the honor (in 1773) to invent 
the new system of naval signal, by which sixteen hun- 
dred orders, questions, answers, and informations, can, 
without confusion or misconstruction, and with the 
greatest celerity, be communicated through a great 
fleet. It was his fixed opinion that a smaller number 



184 Jotn Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

of signals would be insufficient. A captain of the line 
at this day must be a tactician. A captain of a cruis- 
ing frigate may make ship without ever having heard 
of naval tactics. Until I arrived in France and be- 
came acquainted with that great tactician Count D'Or- 
villiers, and his judicious assistant, the Chevalier du 
Pavillion, who, each of them, honored me with in- 
structions respecting the science of governing the opera- 
tions of a fleet, I confess I was not sensible how ignor- 
ant I had been before that time of naval tactics. 

"From the observations I have made and what I have 
read, it is my opinion, that in a navy there ought to be 
at least as many grades below a captain of the line as 
there are below a colonel of a regiment. Even the 
navy of France is deficient in subaltern grades, and has 
paid dearly for that error in its constitution, joined to 
another of equal magnitude, which authorizes ensigns 
of the navy to take charge of watch on board ships of 
the line. One instance may be sufficient to show this. 
The Zele in the night between the 11th and 12th of 
April, 1782, ran on board the Ville de Paris, which ac- 
cident was the principal cause of the unfortunate bat- 
tle that ensued next day between Count de Grasse and 
Admiral Eodney. That accident in all probability 
would not have happened had the deck of the Zele been 
at the time commanded by a steady experienced lieu- 
tenant of the line instead of a young ensign. The 
charge of the deck of a ship of the line should, in my 
judgment, never be intrusted to an officer under twen- 
ty-five years of age. At that time of life he may be 
supposed to have served nine or ten years — a term not 



The Birth of a Nation. 185 

more than sufficient to have furnished him with the 
necessary knowledge for so great a charge. It is easy 
to conceive that the minds of officers must become un- 
easy, when they are continued too long in any one 
grade, which must happen (if regard be paid to the 
good of the service) where there are no more subaltern 
grades than midshipman and lieutenant. Would it not 
be wiser to raise young men by smaller steps, and to 
increase the number ? 

"I have many things to offer respecting the forma- 
tion of our navy. We are a young people, and need 
not be ashamed to ask advice from nations older and 
more experienced in marine affairs than ourselves. 
This, I conceive, might be done in a manner that would 
be received as a compliment by several, or perhaps all 
the marine powers of Europe, and at the same time 
would enable us to collect such helps as would be of 
vast use when we come to form a constitution for the 
creation and government of our marine, the establish- 
ment and police of our dockyards, academies, hospitals, 
etc., and the general police of our seamen throughout 
the continent. These conditions induced me, on my 
return from the fleet of his excellency the Marquis de 
Yandreuil, to propose to you to lay my ideas on the 
subject before Congress, and to propose sending a 
proper person to Europe in a handsome frigate, to dis- 
play our flag in the ports of different marine powers, 
to offer them the free use of our ports, and propose to 
them commercial advantages, etc., and then to ask 
permission to visit their marine arsenals, to be informed 
how they are furnished both with men, provision, ma- 



186 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

terials and war-like stores, — by what police and officers 
they are governed, how and from what resources they 
are fed, clothed and paid, etc., and the general police 
of their seaman and academies, hospitals, etc. If you 
still object to my project on account of the expense of 
sending a frigate to Europe, and keeping her there till 
the business can be effected, I think it may be done, 
though perhaps not with the same dignity, without a 
frigate. My plan for forming a proper corps of sea- 
officers is, by teaching them the naval tactics in a fleet 
of evolution. To lessen the expense as much as possi- 
ble, I would compose that fleet of frigates instead of 
ships of the line; on board of each I would have a 
little academy, where the officers should be taught the 
principles of mathematics and mechanics, when off 
duty. When in port, the young officers should be 
obliged to attend the academies established at each 
dock-yard, where they should be taught the principles 
of every art and science that is necessary to form the 
character of a great sea officer. And every commis- 
sioned officer of the navy should have free access and be 
entitled to receive instruction gratis at those acade- 
mies. 

"All this would be attended with no very great ex- 
pense, and the public advantage resulting from it would 
be immense. I am sensible it cannot be immediately 
adopted, and that we must first look about for ways and 
means; but the sooner it is adopted the better. We 
cannot, like the ancients, build a fleet in a month, and 
wo ought to take example from what has lately befallen 
Holland. In time of peace it is necessary to prepare, 



The Birtli of a IS'ation. 187 

and be always prepared, for war by sea. I have had 
the honor to be presented with copies of the signals, 
tactics and police, that have been adopted under the 
different admirals of France and Spain during the 
war, and have in my last campaign seen them put in 
practice. While I was at Brest, as well as while I was 
inspecting the building of the America, as I had fur- 
nished myself with good authors, I applied much of my 
leisure time to the study of naval architecture and 
other matters that relate to the establishment and 
police of dock-yards, etc. I, however, feel myself 
bound to say again, I have yet much need to be in- 
structed.'' 

Just as Captain Jones was about to assume command 
of the America, now almost completed, the French ship 
Magnifique, a powerful seventy-four gun ship belong- 
ing to the French government, met with an accident, 
the result of mismanagement, in Boston harbor, and to 
keep France in good humor and to retain her as an ally. 
Congress saw proper to present the ship America to his 
Majesty the King of France, just as it had done the 
Indian, built at Amsterdam. France was sorely in need 
of ships to defend her own coast cities against the Brit- 
ish, and this act of liberality on the part of Congress 
was received everywhere with demonstrations of hearty 
approval. We can well imagine the disappointment 
this must have occasioned in the breast of Paul Jones, 
who was anticipating an early return to active service 
when the decision of Congress and the Marine Com- 
mittee reached him at Portsmouth; but with the spirit 
of a true patriot he submitted to the action of his supe- 



188 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

riors without a m-armur. His disappointment at not 
being placed in command of the Indian after receiving 
the assurance of not only Franklin and the Marine 
Com^mittee, but Congress as well, had in a measure pre- 
pared him for any contingency that could possibly 
arise. Jones was in a measure pacified by the receipt 
of many letters from eminent personages connected 
with the government in various capacities, such for 
example as Robert Morris, LaFayette, Washington, 
John Adams, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and many 
others in high authority. Adams, in a letter to Paul 
Jones from The Hague dated Aug. 12, 1782, says: 
"If I could see a prospect of having half-dozen line-of- 
battleships under the American flag, commanded by 
Commodore Paul Jones, engaged with an equal British 
force, I apprehend the event would be so glorious for 
the United States, and lay so sure a foundation for 
their prosperity, that it would be a rich compensation 
for a continuance of the war." 

Robert Morris, in acknowledging a letter from Paul 
Jones says : "I have received your letter of the 22nd of 
last month. The sentiments contained in it will always 
reflect the highest honor upon your character. They 
have made so strong an impression upon my mind that 
I immediately transmitted an extract of your letter to 
Congress. I doubt not but that they will view it in 
the same manner that I have done." 

"Your coming to the army I had the honor to com- 
mand," says La Fayette, "would have been considered 
as a very flattering compliment to me who love you and 
know your worth. I am impatient to hear you are 



Tlie Birth of a Nation. 189 

ready to sail, and I am of opinion we ought to unite 
under you every continental ship we can muster, with 
such a body of well-appointed marines as might cut a 
good figure ashore; and then give you plenty of provi- 
sion and carte hlanche. I am sorry I cannot see you. 
1 also had many things to tell you; you know my af- 
fectionate sentiments for you, so that I need not a-dd 
anything on that subject." 

In order to pacify his feelings, Congress acceded 
to the request of Captain Jones to go on board the 
French fleet, then cruising in American waters. He 
gave as his reason for wishing to pay a visit to the 
French fleet and especially to Marquis de Vaudreuil, 
that it was for improvement in his profession and to 
return in a measure the many courtesies extended to 
him by the Chevalier Luzerne and the Marquis de Vau- 
dreuil while in Europe. His request was granted in 
the following resolution: 

By the United States in Congress Assembled: 

^'Wednesday, December 4, 1782. 
''Resolved, That the agent of marine be informed 
that Congress, having a high sense of the merit and 
services of Captain John Paul Jones, and being dis- 
posed to favor the zeal manifested by him to acquire 
improvement in the line of his profession, do grant the 
permission which he requests, and that the said agent 
be instructed to recommend him accordingly to the 
countenance of his Excellency the Marquis de Vau- 
dreuil.'^ 



190 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Within a fortnight, Captain Jones had the pleasure 
of being once more on board a ship of war, but this 
time under the flag of France. No sooner had he be- 
come settled in his new position than peace came to the 
Colonies. Cornwallis had surrendered his sword to 
Washington, and the revolt of the Colonies against the 
parent country was brought to a glorious and suc- 
cessful ending at Yorktown, Va., on the 19th of Octo- 
ber, 1781, and shortly thereafter the last ship flying the 
British flag took its leave from our shores. 

Thus ended the long and embittered strife between a 
sturdy race of pioneers and a mother country possessing 
few of the natural instincts of a parent toward its off- 
spring. Instead of a patrimony that is usually be- 
stowed upon a child that goes forth to battle with life's 
currents, this despotic, this tyrannical parent sought to 
exact tribute from her justly rebellious children who 
had ceased to acknowledge filial "protection.'' Admit- 
ting the right of a parent to expect some consideration 
from her offspring, yet when that parent, by reason of 
strength, sought to coerce her children who were strug- 
gling for their rights amidst the dangers and privations 
of the wilderness, even now in the light of a century of 
national independence, we cannot but hold them guilt- 
less of ingratitude. 

Thus crowned with a victory, the memory of which 
still nettles the mother country, the thirteen Colonies 
sprang upon the arena of nations full formed and 
wrung from friend and foe the highest meed bestowed 
upon a youthful state. 

The birth of a nation under auspices so favorable is 



The Birth of a ISTation. 191 

a spectacle as sublime as it is wonderful. The history 
of the past affords no instance of equal grandeur with 
the founding of the United States upon principles so 
broad^ so magnanimous, and at so fearful a sacrifice, 
as to rival the grandest conception ever entered by 
Plato of his ideal Republic. A government so benefi- 
cent in all of its relations and purposes could never have 
had its inception in minds of ordinary mould. 



CHAPTER XII. 

PAUL JONES LEAVES AMERICA — ENTERS THE RUSSIAN 
NAVY. 

That impatience of inactivity, which appears to have 
been an inherent quality in the ever active mind of 
Paul Jones, and which seemed never to have rested 
when there was an opportunity for employment, now 
induced him to solicit from Congress an appointment 
in Europe. There were still large sums of money due 
him and the men who aided in the capture of the 
Union, the Drake, the Countess of Scarborough, the Sera- 
pis, and numerous other vessels of various capacities 
that were then rotting in the ports of France, Spain, 
Denmark, Norway, Holland and the United States. 
Many attempts were made by Jones during the stormy 
days of the Eevolution to collect the ships in foreign 
waters into one vast fleet, but failing in this he next 
endeavored to obtain a cash consideration from the 
governm^ents who held them, because they were an- 
chored in harbors of neutral powers and the belliger- 
ents had been warned not to seek shelter in harbors 
closed against warring nations. Now that the war was 
over and the American Colonies were free and inde- 
pendent, Jones felt that an appointment from Congress, 
authorizing him to collect this prize money could not 

192 



1 



Enters tlie Eussian Navy. 193 

fail to impress the powers with the importance of 
speedy action, and more especially when it became 
known that he would be assisted by the most eminent 
personages in France, among whom was the King and 
his Minister of Marine, M. de Sartin. Pursuant to a 
resolution of Congress, passed November 1st, 1783, 
Captain Jones was appointed "Agent for all the prizes 
taken in Europe/' 

Immediately after receiving this appointment he 
proceeded to Paris, where he was warmly received by 
his friend Franklin, who was still in charge of Ameri- 
can interests in Europe, as Minister Plenipotentiary 
and Envoy Extraordinary. Captain Jones found social 
affairs the absorbing occupation in Paris and other 
French cities, and in renewing his former acquaint- 
ances in <30urt circles and fashionable society, he feit 
that it would very materially aid him in his mis- 
sion. 

During the succeeding three or four years Jones be- 
came interested in a number of commercial enterprises, 
among which was the projection of a large fur trading 
company operating in British North America, Japan 
and the east coast of Asia. The expeditions were un- 
der the immediate charge of John Ledyard, who was 
associated with Jones in more than one ill-conceived 
enterprise. Like many other attempts of Captain 
Jones to improve his pecuniary interests this, his latest 
venture, proved equally as disastrous as other enter- 
prises conceived by this brave and enterprising man. 

During his long stay in Paris he was shown many 
favors and received additional honors and recognition 



194 Joliu Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

for his services in the cause of liberty. In acknowledg- 
ment of these courtesies, Jones caused his Journal, a 
record of his exploits and details of his connection with 
the American Navy, to be published, which together 
with his bust, which he had cast, he gave gratuitously 
to his most intimate acquaintances, including the King, 
de Sartin, d'Estaing, and LaFayette. 

He was also successful in witnessing the settlement 
of the prize claims due him from the French Admir- 
alty, but his reason for not proceeding to Denmark and 
Bergen, in Norway, is best expressed in the following 
letter to John Jay, written upon his return to America, 
in July, 1787: 

To His Excellency John Jay, Esq., Minister of Foreign 

Affairs: 

New York, July 8th, 1787. 

Sir — The application I made for a compensation for 
our prizes through the Danish Minister in London not 
having succeeded, it was determined between Mr. Jef- 
ferson and myself, that the proper method to obtain 
satisfaction was for me to go in person to the Court of 
Copenhagen. It was necessary for me to see the Baron 
de Blome before I could leave France on that business, 
and he being absent on a tour in Switzerland, did not 
return to Paris till the beginning of last winter. I left 
Paris in the spring, and went as far as Brussels on my 
way to Copenhagen, when an unforeseen circumstance 
in my private affairs rendered it indispensable for me 
to turn about and cross the ocean. My private business 
here being already finished, I shall in a few days re- 



Enters the Russian Navy. 195 

embark for Europe, in order to proceed to the Court of 
Denmark. It is my intention to go by the way of Paris, 
in order to obtain a letter to the French Minister at 
Copenhagen, from the Count de Montmorin, as the one 
I obtained is from the Count de Vergennes. 

It would be highly flattering to me if I could carry 
a letter with me from Congress to his Most Christian 
Majesty, thanking him for the squadron he did us the 
honor to support under our flag. And on this occa- 
sion, sir, permit me, with becoming diffidence, to recall 
the attention of my sovereign to the letter of recom- 
mendation I brought with me from the Court of 
France, dated 30th of May, 1780. It would be pleas- 
ing to me if that letter should be found to merit a 
place on the Journals of Congress. Permit me also to 
entreat that Congress will be pleased to read the letter 
I received from the Minister of Marine, when his Maj- 
esty designed to bestow on me a golden-hilted sword, 
emblematical of the happy alliance, — an honor which 
his Majesty never conferred on any other foreign officer. 
I owed the high favor I enjoyed at the Court of 
France in a great degree to the favorable testimony 
of my conduct, which had been communicated by his 
Majesty's ambassador, under whose eye I acted in the 
most critical situation in the Texel, as well as to the 
public opinion of Europe. And the letter with which 
I was honored by the Prime Minister of France, when 
I was about to return to America, is a clear proof that 
we might have drawn still greater advantages from the 
generous disposition of our ally, if our marine had not 
been lost whilst I was, under perplexing circumstances, 



196 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

detained in Europe, after I had given the Count de 
Maurepas my plan for forming a combined squadron of 
ten or twelve sail of frigates, supported by the Ameri- 
can, with a detachment of French troops on board; the 
whole at the expense of his Majesty. 

It is certain that I am much flattered by receiving 
a gold sword from the most illustrious monarch now liv- 
ing ; but I had refused to accept his commission on two 
occasions before that time, when some firmness was 
necessary to resist the temptation. He was not my 
sovereign; I served the cause of freedom, and honors 
from my sovereign would be more pleasing. Since the 
year 1775, when I displayed the American flag for the 
first time with my own hands, I have been constantly 
devoted to the interests of America. Foreigners have, 
perhaps, given me too much credit, and this may have 
raised my ideas of my services above their real value; 
but my zeal can never be over-rated. 

I should act inconsistently if I omitted to mention 
the dreadful situation of our unhappy fellow-citizens 
in slavery at Algiers. Their almost hopeless fate is a 
deep reflection on our national character in Europe. 
I beg leave to influence the humanity of Congress in 
their behalf, and to propose that some expedient may 
be adopted for their redemption. A fund might be 
raised for that purpose by a duty of a shilling per 
month from seaman's wages throughout the continent, 
and I am persuaded that no difficulty would be made to 
that requisition. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient and hum- 
ble servant, John Paul Jones. 



Enters tlie Russian Navy. 197 

Although the Board of Treasury did not approve of 
the method of raising funds to defend the honor and 
dignity of the nation as suggested by Captain Jones, 
yet the Congress manifested its approval of his conduct 
and activity in promoting the interests of America by a 
unanimous resolution "that a gold medal should be 
struck, and presented to the Chevalier John Paul 
Jones, in commemoration of the valor and brilliant 
services of that officer while in command of a squadron 
of French and American ships, under the flag and com- 
mission of the States of America/* 

This was immediately followed by a letter of thanks 
to the King of France, dated New York, Oct. 16, 1787, 
expressing deep gratitude for his great solicitude for 
the welfare of America and his deep sense of personal 
regard for Captain Jones. "Permit us," concludes the 
letter, "to repeat to your Majesty, our sincere assur- 
ances, that the various and important benefits for which 
we are indebted to your friendship will never cease to 
interest us in whatever may concern the happiness of 
your Majesty, your family, and j^our people. We pray 
God to keep you, our great and beloved friend, under 
His holy protection." 

This letter was addressed "To His Most Christian 
Majesty, Louis, King of France and Navarre," and 
was handed to Jones to present to the King in person. 
The following day being Thursday, Captain Jones bid 
farewell to his many friends who had assembled to bid 
him a safe voyage, little thinking that he would never 
return to the shores of America, the land he loved so 



198 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

much, and for which he sacrificed the best years of his 
life. 

Dr. Franklin had resigned his commission to France, 
owing to extreme age and failing health, and had been 
succeeded by Thomas Jefferson. On arriving at Paris, 
Captain Jones lost no time in presenting his compli- 
ments to Mr. Jefferson, whom he had met on many oc- 
casions in Paris as well as in Philadelphia and New 
York. The Russian ambassador at Paris, M. de Simo- 
lin, whose apartments joined those of the American Em- 
bassy, had long admired the dashing and brilliant per- 
sonality of the Chevalier Paul Jones; he proposed that 
the latter enter the Russian navy then assembling on 
the Black Sea in anticipation of an attack upon Con- 
stantinople. 

There is no evidence to show that the Court of Rus- 
sia or the Empress had ever thought of Jones as a naval 
commander for employment in her Black Sea squadron, 
or that Jones had ever considered service in any capac- 
ity after the American revolution was brought to a 
glorious ending. Seeing an opportunity for active em- 
ployment again, however, Jones hastened to assure the 
Russian ambassador at Paris of his desire to enter the 
service of Catherine, Empress of all the Russias, but 
that he must first proceed to London and from there to 
Copenhagen and Bergen to settle the affair of prize 
money still pending in the courts of these capitals. 

His stay in the Danish capital was both pleasant and 
of long duration. Through the instrumentality of the 
Russian ambassador at Copenhagen, Baron Krudner, 
and on presentation of letters from M. de Simolin, Mr. 



A'-i 



Enters the Russian Navy. 199 

Jefferson and others at Paris, The Hague and London, 
Jones was as graciously received by the King and Eoyal 
family of Denmark as he had been in other capitals of 
Europe. In his Journal he speaks very flatteringly of 
the receptions tendered him by every member of the 
royal family and one in particular, at which he was the 
guest of honor and at which upwards of one hundred 
ministers of state, foreign ambassadors, court dignita- 
ries and the Royal Family were present. 

Even while courting these royal favors, he was se- 
cretly planning his entrance into the Eussian navy. 
Baron Krudner had opened the way for direct commu- 
nication with the Empress, which Jones made haste to 
avail himself of. 

Owing to his ability to complete the treaty of com- 
merce pending between Denmark and the United 
States, and to effect a settlement with regard to the 
long unsettled prize money, Jones was chafing under 
enforced restraint. He had formally tendered his 
services to M. de Simolin for immediate employment 
in the Eussian navy, and the same having been ac- 
cepted by the Empress his patience was daily becoming 
exhausted. The following letter from the empress 
showed Jones the only way out of his perplexing diffi- 
culty, and he was not long in reaching a conclusion as 
to his future plans : 

John Paul Jones, Esquire, in care Baron Krudner, 

Copenhagen: 

Sir — A courier from Paris has just brought from 
my Envoy in France, M. de Simolin, the enclosed letter 



200 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to Count Besborodko. As I believe that this letter may 
help to confirm to you what I have already told you 
verbally, I have sent it, and beg you to return it, as I 
have not even made a copy so anxious am I that you 
should see it. I hope that it will efface all doubts from 
your mind, and prove to you that you are to be con- 
nected only with those who are most favorably disposed 
towards you. I have no doubt but that on your side 
you will fully justify the opinion which we have 
formed of you, and apply yourself with zeal to support 
the reputation and the name you have acquired for 
valor and skill on the element in which you are to 
serve. 

Adieu. 
I wish you happiness and health. 

Catherine. 



The letter referred to by the Empress was from M. 
de Simolin to Count de Besborodko, and appears in full 
in the Journal kept by Jones in the chapter devoted to 
"Correspondence pertaining to M. de Simolin and the 
navy of her Imperial Highness, Catherine of Eussia." 
It is in brief as follows : 

The letter with which your Excellency favored me 
on the 16th of February, was delivered by M. Polir- 
anoff. By it I was informed of the resolution of her 
Imperial Majesty on the subject of the engagement 
with the Chevalier Paul Jones ; and the same day Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel de Baner, who was dispatched from St. 
Elizabeth, by Prince Potemkin on the 9th of March, 
brought me two letters^ the subject of one of which was 



Enters tlie Russian Navy. 201 

the said Chevalier Jones, whom he requested me to in- 
duce to repair to his headquarters as quickly as pos- 
sible, that he might employ his talents at the opening 
of the campaign; and assure him that in entering the 
service, he (Potemkin) would do all that depended on 
him to make his situation pleasant and advantageous 
and certainly procure for him occasions in which he 
might display his skill and valor. 

Captain Jones was not long in effecting a settlement 
with the Danish Government concerning the prize 
money, nor was he long in concluding an advantageous 
treaty of commerce between Denmark and the United 
States which is substantially in effect today. 

About the middle of April Jones received a long let- 
ter from Baron Krudner, written shortly after the lat- 
ter's return from St. Petersburg, expressing the highest 
satisfaction in being permitted to carry the commission 
from his Sovereign "to the famous Paul Jones." The 
following is but an extract of the Baron's letter, but it 
denotes a foregone conclusion that the invitation to 
accept a command in the Eussian navy, gave Jones 
what he desired most — ^%n active command with pros- 
pects of immediate service.'* 

"I am much disappointed," writes the Baron, '^at not 
meeting you at Court, as I had promised myself, but a 
slight indisposition prevented me from going abroad; 
besides I have been agreeably occupied in writing let- 
ters. My Sovereign learned with pleasure the acquisi- 
tion which she has made in your great talents. I have 
her commands for your acceptance of the grade of Cap- 
tain Commandant, with the rank of Major General, 



202 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

in her service, and that you should proceed as soon as 
your affairs permit; the intention of her Imperial Maj- 
esty being to give you a command in the Black Sea 
and under the orders of Prince Potemkin, from the 
opening of the campaign. The immortal glory by 
which you have illustrated your name cannot make you 
indifferent to the fresh laurels you must gather in the 
new career which opens to you. I have the honor 
of being on this occasion the interpreter of those senti- 
ments of esteem with which for a long period your bril- 
liant exploits have inspired her Imperial Majesty. Un- 
der a Sovereign so magnanimous^ in pursuing glory, 
you need not doubt of the most distinguished rewards 
and that every advantage of fortune will await you." 

Jones sought the office and rank of Eear-Admiral in 
the Russian navy, but not being assured that his request 
would be granted, doubtless because he had not held a 
similar rank in the navy of the United States, he wrote 
Mr. Jefferson : "If Congress should think I deserve the 
promotion tliat was proposed when I was in America 
and should condescend to confer on me the grade of 
Hear- Admiral, from the day I took the Serapis (Sep- 
tember 23rd, 1779, exactly nine years before) I am 
persuaded it would be very agreeable to the Empress, 
who now deigns to offer me an equal rank in her serv- 
ice, although I never had the honor to draw my sword 
in her cause, nor to do any other act that could merit 
her Imperial benevolence. The rank I mention of the 
approbation of that honorable body (Congress), would 
be extremely flattering to me in the career I am now to 
pursue and would stimulate all my ambition to acquire 



Enters tlie Eiissian Navy. 203 

the necessary talents to merit that and even greater 
favors at a future day. I pray you, sir, to explain the 
circumstances to the United States in Congress. I ask 
for nothing and beg leave to be understood only as hav- 
ing hinted what is natural to conceive : That the mark 
of approbation I mention could not fail to be infinitely 
serviceable to my views and success in the country 
where I am going.^' 

About this time Jones received from the King of 
Denmark a "patent" or a life annuity amounting to 
1,500 Danish crowns, "for," the pension read, "the re- 
spect you (Jones) had shown to the Danish flag while 
cruising in the North Seas." For some years after the 
awarding of this unsolicited pension, Jones neither ac- 
cepted of its provisions nor made known the existence 
of such a grant to his countrymen in America, and had 
his afl:airs prospered after his entrance into the Russian 
navy no one would have been aware of this generous 
bequest on the part of the Danish Monarch or its re- 
fusal by the proud Yankee Commander. However, by 
the advice of certain distinguished American friends of 
Jones' to whom he made known the existence of this 
pension, he was persuaded to accept a small portion of 
the fund that had assumed large proportions since it 
was granted. 

In the preliminary chapter of this work it was pro- 
posed to tell the story of Paul Jones so far as he helped 
to liberate the Colonies from British tyranny. Hav- 
ing concluded this much in the life-story of the founder 
of the American navy, the reader will not be wearied 
by a lengthy recital of uninteresting details of an un- 



204 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

eventful campaign on the Black Sea and adjacent 
waters between the allied forces of Eussia and Poland 
on the one hand and those of the Porte on the other. 
To the reader, however, who wishes to follow the career 
of our hero in all of his various campaigns and exploits 
during the succeeding years of his activity, it will be 
necessary to procure a copy of the "Journal of the Cam- 
paign of the Liman in 1788, drawn up by Rear- Ad- 
miral Jones for the perusal of her Imperial Majesty of 
all the Russias." Parts of this voluminous diary have 
been published in every work purporting to be a Life 
of Chevalier John Paul Jones, but believing a history 
of this period of his intensely active career has little 
interest to the average American, it has not been 
thought necessary to recount it here. 

As has been noted, his connection with the Russian 
navy was not without its pains and its penalties. No- 
where in public life do petty jealousies exist to a 
greater extent than in the army and navy, and with 
Jones the Russian service was no exception. In placing 
him in command of the Wolodimer with the rank of 
Rear-Admiral, not only were all the under officers of- 
fended by being superseded by a foreigner, but the few 
who outranked Jones refused to confer with him when 
united action was desired because of the apparent slight 
shown their fellow officers. Again, the campaign 
against the Turks was drawing to a close — the siege oi 
Sebastopol had been raised, and not only Cherson, but 
the Crimea had been saved to Russia through the indi- 
vidual ef oris of Paul Jones, These combined causes 



Enters tlie Russian N'avy. 205 

rendered Jones unpopular with every officer beneath the 
rank of Admiral. 

On the question of employing foreign officers, as well 
as to justify his conduct while in the service of Cather- 
ine, we will conclude his connection with the Russian 
navy by quoting from the Journal of the Liman : 

It is said that Russia has no longer need of foreign 
naval officers. No one is more desirous than myself 
that this may be so, for I cannot be jealous of any one, 
and I must ever desire the prosperity of a country I 
have served. I may, however, be allowed to notice, that 
this opinion is not of very ancient date. If this had 
been believed before the last campaign, why were my 
services so anxiously sought after? It assuredly could 
not have been in compliment to me, nor in order after- 
wards to make use of me in promoting certain political 
designs. I have frequently heard, that, since the war 
broke out with Sweden, measures have been taken to 
induce Rear-Admiral Kinsbergen to quit Holland, and 
re-enter the service of Russia. His countrymen allege 
that he had been offered the rank of vice-admiral, the 
Order of Alexander Nevsky, and a fixed revenue of 
20,000 roubles a year; and that he had refused all these 
advantages, as he had lately married a wife with a for- 
tune which enabled him to live in independence in his 
own country. 

It is known that the King of Sweden made advan- 
tageous offers to Admiral Curtis, of the English navy, 
to induce him to take command of the fleet against 
Russia; and that this officer declined them, not wish- 
ing to hazard his professional reputation in command 



206 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

of a fleet which was not in so good a condition as that 
of England. 

The Empress will do me the justice to remember 
that when I entered her service I did not say one word 
regarding my personal interests. I have a soul too 
noble for that; and if my heart had not been devoted 
to her Majesty, I would never have drawn my sword in 
her cause. I have now nothing for it but, like Admiral 
Kinsbergen, to marry a rich wife ; but I have sufficient 
to support me wherever I choose, and I have seen 
enough of the world to be a philosopher. When I ar- 
rived at the Black Sea, if reasons much stronger than 
those which withheld Admiral Curtis had not influ- 
enced my mind and heart, which were devoted to the 
Empress, I would never have hoisted my flag on board 
the Wolodimer. I would have refused the poor com- 
mand offered me, and which was not worthy of me. I 
have never puffed of my own action nor given any 
piece to the press containing my own panegyric. 

I respect the names of Kinsbergen and Curtis, but 
the first duty of a gentleman is to respect his own char- 
acter; and I believe, without vanity, that the name of 
Paul Jones is of as much value as theirs. It is thirty 
years since I entered the navy, and I have had for 
friends and instructors a d'Orvilliers and a Du Pavil- 
ion. Unfortunately, Prince Potemkin never gave him- 
self the trouble to know me. 

I had the happiness to be loved by my officers and 
men, because I treated them justly, and set them a 
good example in fight. After I ceased to command, 
though the campaign only lasted a few days, the sea- 



Enters tlie Russian Navy. 207 

men soon found the difference. They said they had 
lost their father; they were immediately served with 
bad provisions. 

I have already noticed that Prince Potemkin had 
promised, in presence of Admiral Mordwinoff, to ad- 
vance the officers under my command, and to restore 
to them the seniority they had lost by the promotion of 
ilie officers of the flotilla ; but I have learned with much 
pain that he had not kept his word, and that in conse- 
quence my officers, to the number of fifty, have de- 
manded their dismission. Not one of them offered to 
resign while I held command. Admiral Woinowitch 
having represented to Prince Potemkin that without 
these officers the fleet was useless, he was compelled to 
advance them all. I have been told that they were not 
yet satisfied, as they were not restored to their seniority, 
and that they proposed to quit the service at the end of 
the year. I hope justice will be done them, for they are 
brave men. For myself I have been marked out from 
every other officer that served in the Liman; I alone 
have obtained no promotion, though I commanded and 
was alone responsible ! I may be told that I ought to be 
satisfied with having received the rank of Eear- Admiral 
on entering the service. I reply, that I could not have 
been offered an inferior grade. One officer may deserve 
as much in a day as another in a lifetime, and every 
officer ought to be advanced according to his merits. I 
was not favored in rank on entering the Eussian serv- 
ice. I had a full right to obtain that which I accepted. 
A man, only twenty-four years of age, has since been 
received into the service with the rank of major-gen- 



208 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

eral. I wish to say nothing against this officer; it is 
not always years that give skill, much less genius, but 
he must do a great deal before he has my experience. 

It is painful for the honor of human nature to re- 
flect on how many malevolent and deceitful persons 
surround the great, and particularly crowned heads. I 
speak from my own unhappy experience. Some per- 
sons had the malice to make Prince Potemkin believe 
that I made unhandsome strictures on his military con- 
duct, and ridiculed his manner of conducting the siege 
of Oczahow. I have heard a great deal said on this 
subject, and I am aware that it excited considerable 
discontent in the army. I was told, during my illness 
at Cherson, that a thousand of his officers had demand- 
ed their dismission; but I defy any one to say to my 
face that I ever allowed myself to criticise his opera- 
tions. I have been strongly attached to him, of which 
I have given proofs during my command, and even 
after he unjustly superseded me. There is evidence of 
this in my letter of the 7th of November, at a time 
when I certainly had reason to complain of his con- 
duct. 

I have been deeply injured by those secret machina- 
tions in the opinion of the Empress. My enemies have 
had the wickedness to make her believe that I was a 
cruel and brutal man; and that I had, during the 
American war, even killed my own nephew ! 

It is well known that from motives of revenge, the 
English have invented and propagated a thousand fic- 
tions and atrocities to stain, wound and injure the cele- 
brated men who effected the American revolution: — a 



w 




Enters the Russian Kavy. 209 

Washington and a Franklin, two of the most illustrious 
and virtuous men that have ever adorned humanity, 
have not been spared b}^ these calumniators. Are they 
now the less respected on this account by their fellow- 
citizens? On the contrary, they are universally re- 
vered, even in Europe, as the fathers of their country, 
and as examples of all that is great and noble in the 
human character. 

In civil wars it is not v/onderful that opposite fac- 
tions should mutually endeavor to make it be believed 
that each is in the right; and it is obvious that the 
party most in the wrong will always be the most calum- 
nious. If there had really been anything against my 
character, the English would not have failed to fur- 
nish convincing proofs of it. I was known, with very 
slender means, to have given more alarm to their three 
kingdoms during the war than any other individual 
had done. 

I have heard that at the period of my entering the 
Eussian service, the English in St. Petersburg cried out 
against me, and asserted that I had been a contraband 
trader. All the world knows that men of this descrip- 
tion are actuated entirely by avarice; and every one 
to whom I have the honor to be known is aware that 
I am one of the least selfish of mankind. This is known 
to the whole American people. I have given proofs of 
it not easily shown, of which I possess very flattering 
testimonies. In a letter written on the 29th November, 
1782, to Congress, by Mr. Morris, minister of the mar- 
ine and finance departments, after having made my 
eulogium with the warmth of a true patriot, who thor- 



210 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

oughly knew me, he says, that '^I had certainly merited 
the favor of Congress by services and sacrifices tlie 
most signal.' Men do not change their characters in 
these respects. 

If my heart had bled for the Americans, — above all, 
.for those shut np as victims in English prisons by an 
act of Parliament as sanguinary as unjust, — if I have 
exposed my health and my life to the greatest dan- 
gers, — if I had sacrificed my personal tranquillity and 
my domestic happiness, with a portion of my fortune 
and my blood, to set at liberty these virtuous and inno- 
cent men, — have I not given proofs sufficiently striking 
that I have a heart the most tender, a soul the most 
elevated ? I have done more than all this. So far from 
being harsh and cruel, nature has given me the mildest 
disposition. I was formed for love and friendship, and 
not to be a seaman or a soldier, to which I have sacri- 
ficed my natural inclination. 

As an officer I love good discipline, which I con- 
sider indispensable to the success of operations, particu- 
larly at sea, where men are brought into such close con- 
tact. In the English navy it is known that captains of 
ships are often tyrants, who order the lash for the poor 
seamen very frequently for nothing. In the American 
navy we have almost the same regulations; but I look 
on my crew as my children, and I have always found 
means to manage them without flogging. 

I never had a nephew, nor any other relation, under 
my command. Happily these facts are known in 
America, where cruel calumnies are not believed. I 
have one dear nephew who is still too young for service. 



Enters tlie Eussian Navy. 211 

but who now pursues his studies. Since I came to 
Russia I have intended him for the Imperial Marine. 
Instead of imbruing my hands in his blood he will be 
cherished as my son. 

In short, my conduct has obtained for me the re- 
turns most grateful to my heart. I have had the hap- 
piness to give universal satisfaction to two great and 
enlightened nations which I have served. Of this I 
have received singular proofs. I am the only man in 
the world that possesses a sword given by the King of 
France. It is to me a glorious distinction to wear it; 
and above all, to have received it as a proof of the par- 
ticular esteem of a monarch so august, — a monarch who 
has declared himself the Protector of the rights of the 
human race, and who adds to this glorious title that of 
citizen ! I have indelible proofs of the high consider- 
ation of the United States ; but v/hat completes my hap- 
piness is the esteem and friendship of the most virtu- 
ous of men, v/hose fame v/ill be immortal; and that a 
Washington, a Franklin, a D'Estaing, a LaFayette, 
think the bust of Paul Jones v/orthy of being placed 
side by side with their own. 

Since I am found too frank and too sincere to make 
my way at the Court of Russia without creating power- 
ful enemies, I have philosophy enough to withdraw in- 
to the peaceful bosom of friendship ; but, as I love vir- 
tue better than reward, and as my greatest ambition is 
to preserve, even in the shades of retreat, the precious 
favor of the empress, I may tell her Majesty, that, 
even in the midst of my persecutions, my mind was 
occupied by plans for the essential advancement of her 



212 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

service, of which I gave some idea to her minister in 
June last (1789.) I have not entered into details, for 
there are politicians who before now have robbed me 
of my military plans. I have other projects in view 
from which the flag of Eussia might derive new luster, 
and which would cause but little expense to her Majesty 
at the outset, and perhaps nothing in the end, if I had 
the direction; for I would be able to make war support 
war. Whatever be the issue, I have the satisfaction of 
having done my duty in Russia, and that without any 
views of self-interest. It is affirmed, that, in general, 
strangers who come to Russia are adventurers in search 
of fortune, not liaving the means of living in their own 
country. I cannot say as to this; but I at least hope 
that the Empress will not class me with those. 

Briefly, I am satisfied with myself; and I have the 
happiness to know, that, though my enemies may not 
be converted into friends, my name will nevertheless 
be alwaj^s respected by worthy men who know me; and 
it is to me a satisfaction and a signal triumph at the 
moment of my leaving Russia, that the public, and even 
the English in St. Petersburg, with whom I had no 
connection, have now changed their sentiments in re- 
gard to me, give me their esteem, and regret my de- 
parture. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

PAUL JONES IN PARIS. 

The I]nipress had granted Admiral Jones a two years' 
leave of absence with pay belonging to his military 
rank, which was named at 1,800 roubles, or about 
$900 per year. This, in addition to the pension 
granted by the Danish government, should have placed 
him in affluent circumstances, as incomes went in those 
days. 

The reader has been spared both the time and the 
mortification of reading the charges preferred against 
the character of Paul Jones, which found credence 
with the Empress who had temporarily dismissed him 
from her service upon hearing these charges preferred, 
and commanded him not to appear again at court. 
Through his friend, Count de Segur, who had volun- 
tarily procured sufficient evidence to brand the authors 
of the plot to vilify his character as infamous adven- 
turers and political enemies, Jones was recalled by the 
Empress, but only for a brief time. 

Shortly after his recall to St. Petersburg, he wrote 
Mr. Jefferson, then a member of Washington's Cab- 
inet: "I can only inform you that I returned here by 
special desire of the Empress, but I know not as yet 
how or where I am to be employed for the next eam- 

213 



214 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

paign. I mentioned in my last, as my opinion, that if 
tlie new government of America determines to chastise 
the Algerines, I think it now a favorable moment to 
conclude a treaty with Eussia. The Turks and Algeri- 
ans were combined against us on the Black Sea. The 
United States could grant leave for Eussia to enlist 
American seamen and, making a common cause with 
Eussia in the Mediterranean, might at the peace obtain 
a free navigation from and to the Black Sea. Such a 
connection might lead to various advantages in the 
commerce between the two nations." 

It is not known whether Mr. Jefferson replied to Ad- 
miral Jones in reference to the misconduct of the Alge- 
rians, but it is certain that nothing was done for some 
years looking to an ending of the piratical depredations 
on the part of Tripoli, Algiers, Morocco and other states 
along the Mediterranean. 

Early in September, 1788, Jones left St. Petersburg 
for Warsaw, but with France ultimately as his objective 
point. Before his departure from the Eussian capital 
he was admitted to the presence of the Empress, who 
permitted him to kiss her hand, a custom accorded 
all, however, who are admitted to the presence of 
royalty. She had previously decorated him with the 
insignia of the order of St. Anne, and now took occa- 
sion to compliment him upon his meritorious conduct 
while in her service during the campaign of 1788. 

Jones did not remain long in Poland, as private 
affairs in France and England required his immediate 
presence there. During his stay in Warsaw he re- 
newed his former acquaintance with the Polish patriot. 



In Paris. 215 

General Thaddeus Kosciusko, who lived "in proud in- 
dependence, superior to fortune and to king." Several 
interesting letters passed between these two defenders 
of American liberty, one in particular from Kosciusko, 
long delayed in transit, in which the patriot asks the 
name of the American Minister at Paris and many 
other questions relating to political affairs concerning 
America. A reply dated at Amsterdam, March 16th, 
1790, answered fully all these questions, at the same 
time reiterating his desire to re-enter the service of the 
Empress at the end of his two years' leave. To this de- 
lusive hope he clung to the very close of his intensely 
active life. 

While in Holland, Jones found ample leisure to carry 
on an extensive correspondence with friends in Amer- 
ica, France, Eussia and N'orway, and to strive to re- 
establish himself in the good opinion of many acquaint- 
ances in St. Petersburg. He had not forgotten the uni- 
versal regard the American people had for him, nor the 
confidence and esteem in which he was held by Wash- 
ington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Morris, Eoss, St. 
Clair and others then enjoying peace and a full meas- 
ure of prosperity in the land they helped to deliver 
from British tyranny. 

During the winter of 1789 and 1790, innumerable 
letters bearing the postmarks Amsterdam and The 
Hague, found their way to all countries where the Ad- 
miral had even temporarily lived. Those pertaining 
to America, and directed to those personages whose 
names are dear to the hearts of all who reverence the 
flag and cherish the cause that made possible the im- 



216 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

mortal Declaration of Independence, and the adoption 
of the Constitution, are of especial importance, and 
merit a place in this brief sketch: 

Amsterdam^ December 20, 1789. 
To General George Washington, President of the States 

of America: 

Sir — I avail myself of the departure of the Phila- 
delphia packet. Captain Earle, to transmit to your Ex- 
cellency a letter I received for you on leaving Russia 
in August last, from my friend, the Count de Segur, 
Minister of France at St. Petersburg. That gentle- 
man and myself have frequently conversed on subjects 
that regard America; and the most pleasing reflection 
of all has been the happy establishment of the new con- 
stitution, and that you are so deservedly placed at the 
head of the government by the unanimous voice of 
America. Your name alone, sir, has established in 
Europe a confidence that was for some time before 
entirely wanting in American concerns; and I am 
assured that the happy effects of your administration 
are still more sensibly felt throughout the United 
States. This is more glorious for you than all the 
laurels that your sword so nobly won in support of the 
rights of human nature. In war, your fame is im- 
mortal as the hero of Liberty! In peace, you are her 
patron, and the firmest supporter of her rights ! Your 
greatest admirers, and even your best friends, have now 
but one wish left for you, — that you may long enjoy 
health and your present happiness. 

Mr. Jefferson can inform you respecting my mission 



In Paris. 217 

to the Court of Denmark. I was received and treated 
there with marked politeness; and if the fine words I 
received are true, the business will soon be settled. I 
own, however, that I should have stronger hopes if 
America had created a respectable marine; for that ar- 
gument would give weight to every transaction with 
Europe. I acquitted myself of the commission with 
which you honored me when last in America, by deliv- 
ering your letters with my own hands at Paris to the 
persons to whom they were addressed. 

He also wrote Franklin and Mr, Eoss. Both of these 
letters have interest : 

Amstebdam, December 27, 1789. 
To John Ross, Esquire, Philadelphia: 

Dear Sir — I beg leave to refer you to Doctor Frank- 
lin or to General St. Clair for an explanation of my 
reasons for having left Russia. I have by this oppor- 
tunity sent to those gentlemen testimonies in French 
that cannot fail to justify me in the eyes of my friends 
in America. 

You have no doubt been informed, perhaps by Mr. 
Parish, of the unhandsome conduct of Le Conteulex 
and Company with regard to the letter of credit you 
gave me on them when I was last in America, for six 
thousand livres. As I was landed in England instead 
of France, I went to London to make an arrangement 
with Dr. Bancroft for supplying the expense of my 
mission to Denmark. He promised to place funds for 
my use at Amsterdam. I went to Paris .and took a 
letter of credit from La Conteulex on Amsterdam by 



218 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

way of precaution. On my arrival at Amsterdam I 
found that Bancroft had not kept his word, nor even 
wrote me a line. I then depended on the credit that 
Le Conteulex had, without the least difficulty, given me 
in an open letter; but his correspondent informed me 
he had received orders to pay me nothing till more 
explicit and satisfactory accounts should be received 
from you. I had then no funds in my hands, and if I 
had not the fortune to be immediately relieved from a 
quarter on which I had no claim, I should have found 
myself in great distress. 

I should be glad to know the state of the bank, etc., 
though I at present want no remittance. My address 
is, under cover, to Messrs. N. and J. Yan-Stophorst 
and Hubbard, Amsterdam. Present my respectful com- 
pliments to Mrs. Eoss and the young ladies. I may 
perhaps return to America in the latter end of the 
summer, and in that case I shall wish to purchase a 
little farm, where I may live in peace. I am always 
affectionately yours, 

John Paul Jones. 

N. B. — I presume you have received my bust, as 
Mr. Jefferson has forwarded it for you. 

Amsterdam^ December 27, 1789. 
To His Excellency B. Franklin, Esq. 

Dear Sir: — The enclosed documents from my friend, 
the Count de Segur, Minister Plenipotentiary of France 
at St. Petersburg, will explain to you in some degree 
my reasons for leaving Russia, and the danger to which 
I was exposed by the dark intrigues and mean subter- 



In Paris. 219 

fuges of Asiatic jealousy and malice. Your former 
friendship for me, which I remember with particular 
satisfaction, and have ever been ambitious to merit, will, 
I am sure, be exerted in the kind use you will make of 
the three pieces I now send you, for my Justification 
in the eyes of my friends in America, whose good opin- 
ion is dearer to me than anything else. I wrote to the 
Empress from Warsaw in the beginning of October, 
with a copy of my Journal, which will show Her 
Majesty how much she has been deceived by the account 
she had of our maritime operations last campaign. I 
can easily prove to the world that I have been treated 
unjustly; but I intend to remain silent at least till I 
know the fate of my Journal. 

I shall remain in Europe till after the opening of 
the next campaign, and perhaps longer, before I return 
to America. From the troubles in Brabant, and the 
measures now pursued by the King of Prussia, etc., I 
presume that peace is yet a distant object, and that the 
Baltic will witness warmer work than it has yet done. 
On the death of Admiral Greig, I was last year called 
from the Black Sea by the Empress to command a 
squadron in the Baltic. This set the invention of all 
my enemies and rivals at work, and the event has proved 
that the Empress cannot always do as she pleases. If 
you do me the favor to write to me, my address is, 
under cover, to Messieurs N. and J. Van Stophorst 
and Hubbard at Amsterdam. 

I am, with sincere affection, dear sir, your most 
obedient and humble servant, 

John Paul Jones. 



220 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

N. B. — It is this day ten years since I left the Texel 
in the Alliance. 

Paris, December 7, 1791. 
To the Marquis de La Fayette. 

Dear General: — My ill health for some time past 
has jirevented me from the pleasure of paying you my 
personal respects, but I hope shortly to indulge myself 
with that satisfaction. 

I hope you approve of the quality of the fur-linings 
I brought from Eussia for the King and yourself. I 
flatter myself that His Majesty will accept from your 
hand that little mark of the sincere attachment I feel 
for his person, and be assured that I shall be always 
ready to draw the sword with which he honored 
me for the service of the virtuous and illustrious 
^^protector of the rights of human nature." 

When my health shall be re-established, M. Simo- 
lin will do me the honor to present me to His Majesty 
as a Eussian Admiral. Afterwards it will be my duty, 
as an American officer, to wait on His Majesty with 
the letter which I am directed to present to him from 
the United States. 

I am, dear General, with sincere friendship, your 
affectionate and most humble servant, 

Paul Jones. 

During the rest of that year, all of the following, 
and until quite late in the spring of 1792, Jones passed 
the time looking after matters of personal concern in 
London, Paris, Amsterdam and The Hague. He found 



In Paris. 221 

life in the gay capital of France much to his liking, and 
aside from brief journeys abroad, the whole of the two 
years since leaving St. Petersburg was passed in Paris. 
His chief occupation seems to have been that of letter 
writing, with occasional entries in his Journal, prin- 
cipally concerning his health, which was far from 
good. 

His last appeal to the Empress for reinstatement in 
the Eussian navy was made on the second anniversary 
of the date appearing on his "Leave of Absence." No 
mention in this part of his Journal is made of an 
acknowledgment from the Empress, and it is therefore 
evident that no attention was paid to its receipt. She 
afterwards wrote Baron Grimm at Paris, that there 
was a prospect for an early termination of the war 
with the Turks, and that should something then unfore- 
seen arise that required his services she would make 
known her wishes respecting Paul Jones through the 
Baron. 

Jones' final letter to the Empress, though not a 
lengthy epistle, was written with much care and with 
due regard for his patron's exalted station, as inferred 
from the length of time that elapsed between the be- 
ginning and the conclusion. It is as follows : 

Paris, 1792. 

25th Feb., 
8th March, 
To Her Imperial Majesty of All the Russias, 
Catherine II., St. Petersburg. 
Madam: — If I could imagine that the letter which 



222 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

I had the honor to write to your Majesty from War- 
saw, the 25th September, 1789, had come to hand, it 
would be without doubt indiscreet in me to beg you 
to cast your eyes on the documents enclosed, which 
accuse no person, and the only intent of which is to 
let you see that in the important campaign of the 
Liman, the part which I played was not either that of 
a zero or of a harlequin, who required to be made a 
colonel at the tail of his regiment. I have in my hands 
the means to prove, incontestably, that I directed . all 
the useful operations against the Captain, Pacha. The 
task which was given to me at this critical conjunction 
was very difficult. I was obliged to sacrifice my own 
opinion and risk my military reputation for the bene- 
fit of your empire. But I hope you will be satisfied 
with the manner in which I conducted myself, and also 
of the subsequent arrangements, of which I am per- 
suaded you have not been acquainted until this moment. 
The gracious counsel which your Majesty has often 
done me the honor to repeat to me before my depart- 
ure for the Black Sea, and in the letter which you 
deigned to write to me afterwards, has been the rule of 
my conduct, and the faithful attachment with which 
you had inspired me for your person, was the only 
reason which hindered me from requesting my dismissal 
when I wrote to you from Warsaw; for I confess that 
I was extremely afflicted, and even offended, at having 
received a parole for two years in time of war — a parole 
which it has never entered into mind to wish for, and 
still less to ask, and of which I have not profited to go 
to America, or even to Denmark, where I had important 



In Paris. 223 

business, for I had always hoped to be "iisefully employed 
in your service, before the expiration of this parole, 
which has done me so much injury, and although in 
public I would not have failed to have spoken to you 
at the last audience Vv^hicli you granted me, yet 
I was unfortunately led to believe the repeated prom- 
ises made me, that I should have a private audience in 
order to lay before you my military projects, and to 
speak of them in detail. 

I hope that the brilliant success with which Provi- 
dence has blessed your arms will enable you to grant 
peace to your enemies without shedding more of human 
blood, but in a contrary case your Majesty can be well 
instructed from my project, No. 12, of the last year. 

As I have my enemies, and as the term of my parole 
is about to expire, I await the orders of your Majesty, 
and should be flattered, if it is your pleasure for me 
to come and render you an account in person. Mr. 

, who has the goodness to charge himself with 

this packet, which I have addressed to him, sealed with 
my arms, will also undertake to forward me your orders ; 
I therefore pray you to withdraw me as soon as possible 
from the cruel uncertainty in which I am placed. 
Should you deign. Madam, to inform me that you are 
pleased with the services which I have had the happi- 
ness to render you, I will console myself for the mis- 
fortunes which I have suffered, as I drew my sword 
for you from personal attachment and ambition, but 
not for interest. My fortune, as you know, is not very 
considerable, but as I am philosopher enough to con- 
fine myself to my means, I shall be always rich. ^' 



224 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

I have the honor to be^, Madam, Of your Imperial 
Majesty, the most faithful and obedient servant, 

Paul Jones. 




•'OHN ADAMS. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

DEATH OF JOHN PAUL JONES. 

The most authentic information concerning the move- 
ments of Admiral Jones is obtained from his very com- 
plete Journal and yet more voluminous correspondence. 
It is from these two sources that we know for a cer- 
tainty that he was never recalled by the Empress, who 
had taken this unscrupulous means of terminating his 
connection with the nav}^ He was given no further 
opportunity to disprove the charges made against his 
character as a man, though his standing as a soldier 
and defender of the rights of man stood unimpeached. 
While it is thought the Empress was fully convinced 
of his innocence, still public sentiment, and the power- 
ful influence of British residents in St. Petersburg 
made his re-employment in the Russian service imprac- 
ticable. 

The Empress had acted against the advice of many 
of her ministers and political advisers and in defiance 
of the threats of the British Ambassador at St. Peters- 
burg in employing Jones in any capacity when his name 
was suggested for the service by de Simolin, Besborodko 
and others high in authority; but at the outbreak of 
disturbances along the Black Sea, the Empress was 
anxious to obtain the services of the best naval com- 
manders from the navies of the world, and no name 

225 



226 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

reflected greater giory among the friends of liberty and 
human rights, or created greater consternation among 
his enemies, than that of John Paul Jones. Besides 
it was known that he was friendly disposed toward 
Turkey through a close friendship which existed be- 
tween himself and Captain Pacha of the Sultan's Im- 
perial guards, and being of a roving disposition and 
likely to seek employment in the service of the Sultan, 
Catherine waived all opposition and gladly tendered him 
an Admiralty in her service. 

While in Paris during the winter of 1787 and 1788, 
Admiral Jones formed the acquaintance of the Turk- 
ish Ambassador and Captain Pacha, and it was through 
Mr. Jefferson that Jones entered the service of Russia 
instead of proceeding to Constantinople with his friend 
Captain Pacha. Even while in the service of Eussia, 
we find Jones adopting the Turkish mode of dress, 
reclining while partaking of his meals, and other cus- 
toms peculiar to the followers of Mahomet. In a let- 
ter to Baron de la Houze, the French Minister at Den- 
mark, Jones writes concerning Captain Pacha: "I 
have much to tell you respecting the ^moustaches of the 
good Captain Pacha;' he is a very brave man and the 
public have been much deceived as to our affairs with 
him." 

The two years' leave of absence was given Captain 
Jones with the hope and full expectation that before 
its termination, all differences between Russia and Tur- 
key would be at an end and his services no longer re- 
quired. Baron Grimm was to be the interpreter of her 
Majesty's wishes concerning the re-employment of 



Death of John Paul Jones. 227 

Admiral Jones, but the distance between Paris and St. 
Petersburg being great, the mode of travel in those 
days tedious and seldom without incident, all tending 
to cause delays, Jones decided to make a last personal 
appeal to the Empress, and for that purpose hastened 
to St. Petersburg by the way of Berlin and the Baltic. 

His leave of absence had expired less than a fort- 
night when he reached the Russian Capital, and when 
the Empress learned of his presence and the purpose 
of his mission, she positively refused him an audience, 
hinting at the same time that his presence in St. Peters- 
burg was obnoxious to British, Turkish, and other for- 
eign potentates temporarily sojourning in Russia. 

We can imagine with what disappointment, what 
heartburnings, this brave man, now broken in health 
and spirit, turned his face again toward Paris, which 
was to witness the final scene of his struggle against 
unsurmountable difficulties and powerful enemies, all 
working for his undoing. Why he did not come to 
America and spend the remainder of his days in retire- 
ment among the people who loved him for his worth is 
explained only on the grounds of his intensely active 
nature — a longing for a return to sea service. His fre- 
quent visits to Paris, each of long duration, showed his 
preference for kingly favor while basking in the sun- 
shine of the gaities of the French capital. 

The closing chapter of this intensely active life is 
briefly told. While some of the numerous biographers 
dilate upon the domestic side of his life, so little ma- 
terial is furnished in his voluminous papers and jour- 
nals concerning the affairs of heart that the author is 



228 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

inclined to pass this phase of the life-history of this 
truly wonderful man as too trivial to merit more than 
a passing notice. 

The correspondence between him and his many fair 
admirers yet preserved by his descendants in Scotland, 
amounts to little more than the exchanges of kindnesses 
and civilities. 

Being early separated from his relatives through a 
fondness for the sea, and afterward by the adoption of 
war as his "sole occupation and method of delight/' he 
never had time to cultivate the art of domestic felicity. 
Few of his letters contain any observations on men or 
manners, or even the expression of an opinion not 
strictly professional. The few of his strictly confiden- 
tial letters which exist, do, however unfold his char- 
acter in a very amiable way, especially those written to 
Lady Selkirk, whom he never met, and to the mysteri- 
ous Delia, and one or two other brilliant women whom 
the Admiral met during his triumphant tour through 
France just after the memorable battle between the 
Bon Homme Kichard and the Serapis, and at a time 
when the name of Paul Jones was on everybody's 
tongue. 

It is said that shortly after entering the American 
navy, in 1776, Captain Jones fell desperately in love 
with a lady then living at Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire. Their affection was mutual, but circumstances 
intervened which prevented their union. It was then 
that Jones resolved never to marry, and circumstances 
ever afterward favored the resolution he made at this 
time. During the stormy days of the Eevolution there 



Deatli of John Paul Jones. 229 

were few men in the colonies who paused long enough 
to consider the problem of marriage, not knowing the 
fate in store for them or their posterity. Domestic 
enjoyment was deferred until peace and complete inde- 
pendence had been secured. 

The last letter of importance known to have been 
written by Jones is dated March 28, 1792, and is ad- 
dressed to the Minister of Marine at Paris. Only a 
part of the letter has been preserved, but enough is here 
given to set forth the character and deplorable conduct 
of those to whom the defenders of national honor 
looked for substantial aid in times of war. 

■ Paris, March, 28, 1792. 
To the Minister of French Marine. 

Sir: — In the beginning of the administration of 
your predecessor, I informed him, that this govern- 
ment, not having paid the salary due to a part of the 
crew of the Bon Homme Richard at the time when 
they were discharged from the service, they had been 
paid on their arrival at Boston, and having myself been 
sent back here after the war, under a special commis- 
sion from the United States, to settle the claims of my 
crew, I presented a memorial, reclaiming that part of 
the salary that had never been reimbursed. The Min- 
ister held me in suspense for about five months, and 
then, to my great surprise, instead of satisfying my 
just demand, he addressed me in a very uncivil letter, 
treating me as I conceive, like a school-boy, and per- 
mitting himself to cast unjust and uncivil reflections 
on my past conduct. My health did not permit me to 



230 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

answer immediately, but I had prepared a letter, and 
was just going to send it, when I learned that he had 
resigned his place as the Minister of Marine, and that 
you were named as his successor. 

I request the favor. Sir, that you may read his letter 
and my answer; after which I persuade myself you will 
do justice to my first demand, which is merely official. 
As to my personal pretentions, I never should have set 
up a claim on that score under circumstances less effect- 
ing to my sensibility. Of this I need offer no other 
proof than my silence in that respect for twelve years 
past. My losses and unavoidable expenses during my 
long connection with this nation amount to a large sum, 
and have greatly lessened my fortune. 

The letter is too lengthy for reproduction here, and 
is, in brief, a summary of events fully set forth in this 
book from the hour of his taking command of the Ran- 
ger. He concludes by saying: "Permit me, by way 
of comparison, just to mention the treatment the French 
officers received who served in the American army. The 
war had been carried on for several years by the Ameri- 
cans alone, and there is no instance where the United 
States invited a French officer to enter into their serv- 
ice. Such as presented themselves and were accepted, 
have all of them bettered their situation by that connec- 
tion. At the end of the war they received a gratifica- 
tion of five years' pay, the Order of Cincinnatus, and 
a lot of land, and they now enjoy grades far superior 
to what they could have attained under other circum- 
stances. If we except the Marquis de La Fayette, none 
of them were rich when they went to America. They 



Death of John Paul Jones. 231 

are all now in easy circumstances. In short, they have 
been treated much better than the Americans them- 
selves, who served from the beginning to the end of 
the Revolution." 

At about the time Jones was preparing this lengthy 
letter to the Minister of Marine, which also was in- 
tended for the perusal of the King in the pages of his 
journal. Congress, at the direction of Jefferson, and 
doubtless approved by Washington, Franklin, Deane 
and others high in official life in the young Republic, 
had appointed Jones Consul to Algiers. By the time 
the commission reached Paris, however, Jones was too 
wasted with disease to fully appreciate the tardy recog- 
nition on the part of the country he served so faith- 
fully. His health was rapidly failing; he was no 
longer able to leave his bed, and though his illness only 
lasted a month or so, the end came on the evening of 
the 18th of July, 1792. His remains were interred 
privately in an old churchyard in the suburbs of Paris 
and until quite recently the exact location was un- 
known, but efforts on the part of a number of Ameri- 
can residents in Paris revealed the grave and steps 
were taken to remove the remains to America; but so 
far without success owing to opposition on the part 
of the French authorities. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ESTIMATES OF HIS CHARACTEK. 

No public man of modern times has been the object 
of greater persecution and vilification of character than 
Paul Jones, and almost without reason, too. 

His youth was passed in the company of seafaring 
men. Being early apprenticed to that profession which 
carried with it adventure and hardships on sea and 
land he never knew the pleasures of boyhood. From 
such a childhood and its environs, from a position as an 
apprentice to mate on slaving ships, where polite society 
and the softening influence of women and men of refine- 
ment are unknown, was a natural sequence; our only 
wonder is that more crimes were not laid at his door, 
or that his ambition to carve for himself a destiny that 
should increase in glory as generations pass, was ever 
realized. 

The charge of murder was disproved by trial in Lon- 
don before a British jury. Smuggling was scarcely 
considered a crime, though the nations of the world 
discountenanced it because it did not yield that rev- 
enue necessary to support a corrupt court or an extrava- 
gant Congress. Jones did not believe in tribute-tariff, 
duties, or by whatever name one chooses to call it, and 
in this respect he does not stand alone even among the 

332 



• «> 



Estimates of His Character. 233 

men of affairs to-day. Nor was he guilty of piracy 
or buccaneering, for all of his operations in British 
waters were carried on with the full knowledge and 
consent of Benjamin Franklin and the Congress in 
whose service he was employed; besides he carried the 
American flag, which was displayed whenever occasion 
or necessity required it. He may have been, and doubt- 
less was, a rebel, but were not Washington, Jefferson, 
Franklin, Deane, Lee, and the signers of the Dec- 
laration of Independence so considered? Had there 
been more such rebels as Jones and his compatriots 
Ethan Allen, Paul Kevere, Nathan Hale, Richard Mont- 
gomery, it would not have taken seven years to con- 
vince George the Third that Pitt was right when he 
said: "You cannot conquer America." 

The charge that Jones had grossly violated a young 
girl after he had attained renown in the Russian ser- 
vice, was shown to be the work of a notorious adven- 
turess employed by British subjects living in St. Peters- 
burg for the purpose of bringing him into disfavor with 
Catherine and court circles of the Russian capital. The 
charge, though proven false, forever kept him from 
court favors, and although Catherine held him guiltless, 
she nevertheless refused him further patronage or favor. 

So, all the way through the category of crimes that 
have been associated with the glorious name of John 
Paul Jones. Time has proven him one of the mightiest 
and most unselfish of men who ever drew a sword in 
defense of the ''violated rights of man," and we, in 



234 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

America, are prone to hold him guiltless, even had 
the whole world condemned him as a traitor and a rebel, 
a pirate, a libertine — yea, a murderer. 

Few knew him intimately, but those who did were 
of one opinion — that he was an honorable and emi- 
nently just man. His professional talents and personal 
appearance have been less the topics of abuse than his 
.manners and moral character, though the latter was 
always a matter of controversy. In manners especially, 
he has been frequently described in old English books 
as stiff, conceited and finical, and by the rural press 
of Great Britain as brutal, quarrelsome and arrogant 
toward his professional inferiors. 

Born of obscure parentage, growing to manhood amid 
scenes that tend to degrade rather than lift man above 
the mass of humanity — that of a seafaring man en- 
gaged in the abominable slave trade — we may readily 
believe that Jones entered into social life with much to 
contend with. He had reached manhood and had 
earned world-wide and lasting fame before he sought 
intercourse with polite society. At Lyons, Versailles 
and Paris he entered freely into the gayeties of court 
life, and was warmly admitted into royal favors at Co- 
penhagen, Amsterdam and St. Petersburg. Could this 
have been possible had not his personal appearance and 
manners been above reproach; or would rudeness, bru- 
tality and arrogance in a foreigner have been tolerated 
at court whence examples for subjects to follow emanate? 

Many letters from ladies of the French court and 
others in high social life, not alone in Paris, Lyons and 



Estimates of His Character. 235 

Versailles, but in London, Copenhagen, New York, 
Philadelphia and St. Petersburg, and preserved among 
his personal effects in the possession of his relatives in 
Dumfries, prove the enviable position he held in the so- 
ciety of ladies, which should seem to be quite conclu- 
sive as to the propriety of his manners. 

In addition to his well-kept Journal and voluminous 
correspondence, Jones wrote many very admirable 
verses, but as these were written hurriedly, without due 
regard to versification, and when he was in a different 
mood than when we find him addressing Congress or 
preparing his Journal for the perusal of the King, we 
are constrained to say we admire his prose the most 
and have left the poetic side of his nature for other 
biographers to dilate upon.. 

During the two or three years that Jones spent at the 
home of his elder brother William, near the Rappahan- 
nock, he devoted his entire time to the study of naviga- 
tion and languages; so we should not be surprised at 
the excellence of his compositions and his aspirations 
to know more of the manners and customs of the people 
whose language — French — ^was the prevailing tongue 
in court circles. It is said that a minister, in reading 
the dispatches of Lord Collingwood, who went to sea 
at twelve years of age, used to ask, "Where has Colling- 
wood got his style ? He writes better than any of us." 
Collingwood, like Jones, was a man of studious hab- 
its and seldom lost an opportunity of improving his sit- 
uation, especially his mental faculties and social nature. 

Jones was attentive* to his crews, and generous and 
liberal in all pecuniary transactions of a private na- 



236 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ture, though his Journal and correspondence show that 
he was commendably tenacious of his pecuniary claims 
on states and public bodies. The most part of his re- 
tirement was spent in pressing his prize claims against 
half the nations of Europe. As to discipline, Jones 
was rigid and strict in its administration. In person 
he appears to have been not only very impatient but so 
devoid of all self-control as to be unfit for any regularly 
organized service, had there been any, though admir- 
ably adapted to the singular crisis which he occasioned 
by independent action. Hence his desire for ^'a sep- 
arate command with unlimited orders.'' Without 
these he was not happy, and in his connection with the 
Eussian navy his relations with Prince Potemkin were 
severely strained, which doubtless was the cause of his 
dismissal from the service. 

Boasting has appeared as an inherent quality in most 
great naval commanders; Drake, Eodney, Nelson, Far- 
ragut were all in one sense arrant braggarts; the un- 
fortunate controversy over the Santiago incident where 
"there was glory enough for all" adds yet another name 
to the above list of brave though selfish men of action. 
A man has every right to bring forward his services 
when those who should remember appear disposed to 
forget them, and Paul Jones was no exception, for he 
never lacked courage to express his own convictions 
and put himself in the best possible light. 

But Jones found his lot all the harder, for he was 
the first commander, the founder of a navy, and because 
of its disorganized condition, he could not enforce the 
obedience of those who commanded under his orders, 



Estimates of His Character. 237 

as in the case of Landais, who secretly aided, even co- 
operated with the commander of the Serapis in its 
memorable battle with the Bon Homme Richard, and 
who finally incited the crew of the Alliance to mutiny, 
and finally set sail for America without the permission 
or knowledge of Jones. 

It is a less amiable trait in the character of Paul 
Jones, said one chronicler, that we find him very fre- 
quently quarreling with rival and associate command- 
ers, and never once bestowing hearty, cordial praise on 
any one of them. His avoidance of fame, like the same 
vice of a more sordid kind, continues this same writer, 
not only gave him the insatiable desire of accumulation, 
but tempted him, if not to defraud, at least to trench 
on the rights of others; and his hostility, though open, 
was often far from generous; yet with all this, his 
squabbles were wholly professional. In private life 
there appears to have been no reason to fasten on him 
the odious imputation of being quarrelsome, which 
some few have attempted. He was fonder, says one 
writer, not of glory alone, but of its trappings and dec- 
orations, than quite became the champion of a republic 
and the pupil of Benjamin Franklin. He may, how- 
ever, have considered these symbols as the seals with 
which fame ratifies her bonds and chose Paris, France, 
rather than Republican America to be the scene of his 
declining years. 

Everywhere in England we occasionally hear Jones 
spoken of as a pirate and a traitor; even his moral 
character in that country has ofttimes been made the 
subject of abuse and gross misrepresentation. If this 



238 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

has been done by Englishmen from a mistaken love of 
their country, they dishonor their country and them- 
selves by a continuance of this illtimed abuse. How- 
ever, sentiment is changing in England with regard to 
the character of Jones. The application of the terms 
pirate and rebel is now used only by those who still be- 
wail the loss of the colonies. An adventurer in search 
of glory and the fortunes of war, seems to be the pres- 
ent estimate placed upon the character of Paul Jones 
in most parts of the British Isles, while in America, 
his name knows no superior in naval marine, and is 
held second only to that of the father of his country in 
saving our fair land from British aggression and per- 
petual dependency. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

CORRESPONDENCE — WILL. 

In the existing uncertainty as to his future after 
leaving the Russian service, Jones' mind must have 
been much disturbed. A being so active, having scarce- 
ly ever considered retirement from active sea service, 
must have chafed under enforced idleness. At Paris 
and Amsterdam he was busily employed in correspond- 
ing not only with his immediate acquaintances but 
with eminent personages in the various countries where 
service or duty had called him. The following letters 
have especial interest and are therefore included in 
this narrative: 

The following letter to John Parish, Esq., merchant, 
of Hamburg, is dated December 29, 1789: My 
departure from Copenhagen was so sudden, that I 
omitted writing to you, intending to have done it from 
St. Petersburg. There I found myself in such a round 
of feasting and business till the moment of my depart- 
ure for the Black Sea, that I again postponed it. Had 
I written you after my arrival at Cherson, I have every 
reason to think my letters would have been inter- 
cepted; but notwithstanding my past silence, I can 
truly assure you, that I have constantly entertained 
the most perfect and grateful sense of your friendly 
and polite behavior to me at Hamburg and Copen- 

239 



240 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

hagen. I will now thankfully pay to your order the 
cost of the smoked beef you were so obliging as to send 
to my friend, Mr. Jefferson, at my request. The kind 
interest you have taken in my concerns, and the great 
desire to cultivate your esteem and friendship, are my 
present inducements for troubling you with the enclosed 
packet for the Chevalier Bourgoing, (the French resi- 
dent at Hamburg,) which I send under a flying seal 
for your perusal, praying you to shut the exterior cover 
before you deliver it. I shall make no comments on 
the documents I send for the Baron de la Houze, but 
let the simple truth speak for herself. I shall show 
you, when we meet, things that will surprise you, for 
you can scarcely have an idea how much our operations 
have been misrepresented. 

As I am for the present the master of my time, I 
shall perhaps make you a visit in the spring, and pay 
my court to some of your kind, rich, old ladies. To 
be serious, I must stay in Europe till it is seen what 
changes the present politics will produce, and till I can 
hear from America; and if you think I can pass my 
time quietly, agreeably, and at a small expense at 
Hamburg, I should prefer it to the fluctuating pros- 
pects of other places. 

In the letter referred to in the foregoing, inclosing 
copies of the letters of Count Segur for the perusal of 
Baron de la Houze, who had shown Jones many atten- 
tions at Copenhagen, he complains that his correspond- 
ence had miscarried or been intercepted. Of many 
letters which he had written to Mr. Jefferson, but one 
had been received, and this by messenger. Mr. Jefferson 




JOBN JAY. 



Correspondence — Will. 241 

had returned to America, and been appointed secretary 
of state. He had obtained no definitive answer in 
relation to the claim on Denmark. As a Russian 
officer, says Jones, I do not pretend to interfere in 
this matter; but as the subjects of France have an 
interest in it, you will undoubtedly find it expedient 
to confer further with the Count de Bernstorf on the 
subject. The only substantial difficulty which he 
suggested to me in conversation was, that the new 
constitution of the United States was not yet in force. 
But this objection no longer exists. 

The Baron in his reply from Copenhagen, on the 
ninth of February following, said: 

It is but a few days since I received, with the letter 
with which you have honored me of the 29th Decem- 
ber, the copies of that of the Count de Segur, which you 
have been pleased to communicate to me, and which 
were accompanied by the article inserted on your 
account in the Gazette of France, and which I had 
read. This article has been repeated in many foreign 
gazettes, has entirely destroyed all the venomous effects 
which calumny had employed to tarnish the distin- 
guished reputation which you have acquired by your 
talents and valor. In consequence, public opinion 
still continues to render you injustice, and the most 
noble revenge you can take on your enemies is to gather 
fresh laurels. The celebrated Athenian general, Them- 
istocles, has said: ''I do not envy the situation of 
the man who is not envied." 

He also informed Jones that the situation of the 
claim was as he had left it, he not having been clothed 



242 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

with plenary powers. The Danish minister had taken 
the ground that Paris ought to have been the seat of 
the negotiations. 

To Baron Krudner, who was still the Russian envoy 
at Copenhagen, Jones wrote on the same occasion, 
referring to the letters he had enclosed for Baron de la 
Houze. He said: Notwithstanding the unjust treat- 
ment I received in Russia, the warm attachment with 
which the empress inspired me at the beginning, still 
remains rooted in my heart. You know, Sir, that her 
imperial majesty thought my sword an object worthy 
of her attention, sought it with the most flattering eager- 
ness, and treated me the first time I was at her court 
with unexampled distinction. That sword has been 
successfully and frequently drawn on critical occa- 
sions, to render the most essential services to her 
empire, and to cover her flag with fresh laurels. For 
this I have greatly exposed my reputation, and entirely 
sacrificed my military pride. Yet I have seen the 
credit of my services bestowed on others, and I am 
the only officer who made the campaign of the Liman 
without being advanced. In a letter I wrote the 
empress, the 17th of May last, I mentioned that her 
majesty would soon receive a direct proof from Amer- 
ica of the unanimous approbation with which I am 
honored by the United States. I alluded to the gold 
medal which I am to receive, and respecting which 
you have in your hands a copy of the unanimous act 
of Congress. That medal is now elegantly executed, 
and is ready for me at Paris. The United States have 
ordered a copy of my medal to be presented to every 



Correspondence — Will. 243 

sovereign in Europe, Great Britain excepted. When 
we meet, I shall produce clear proof of all I have said 
respecting Russia. The only promise I asked from the 
empress at the beginning, and, indeed, the only condi- 
tion I made with her majesty, was, that ^^she should not 
condemn me without having heard me." I need make 
no remark to a man of your clear understanding. 
You advised me to write to the empress by the post. 
I wrote several letters while in the department of the 
Black Sea to my friend Mr. Jefferson, at Paris, con- 
taining no detail of our operations, yet they were all 
intercepted. I have, I think, reason to apprehend that 
there will be no peace this winter, and that the Baltic 
will witness warmer work than it has yet done. 

You remember that Count B (Bernstorf) 

showed you a paper which he sent, to be delivered to 
me by the Danish minister at St. Petersburg. I re- 
ceived that paper without any alteration whatever, 
either in the 'date,^ or otherwise. If I understand you 
right, it was intended that 'a year's payment. would be 
made in advance/ but I have not since heard a word 
in that respect. I wish to be informed how the pay- 
ment is intended to be made. It cannot surely be in 
Danish bank-paper. You will do me a great favor 
if you can obtain an explicit answer, and it would be 
much more agreeable if the payment could be made 
here, instead of being made at any other place. I 
have not yet mentioned this affair to any person 
whatever, except yourself. You are no stranger to 
my sentiments. You know the present happy state 
of America. That nation will soon create a respecta- 



244 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

ble marine. It is now a year since I gave a plan to the 
court of St. Petersburg, for forming a political and 
commercial connection with the United States. The 
empress approved this much, and there was question 
of sending me to America in consequence. But a great 
man told me, 'que cela enrageroit les Anglais d'avan- 
tage contre la Russie, et qu'il falloit auparavant faire 
la paix avec les Turcs.' Accept my warm congratula- 
tions on the well-merited advancement you have re- 
ceived in the order of St. Wolodimer. I hear that 
your lady is at Paris. I beg you to assure her of my 
great respect, etc., etc. 

The pension would no doubt have been convenient at 
this time, for Jones had been merely paid by the Russian 
government, as has been mentioned, at the rate of 1800 
roubles per annum, and his expenses had more than 
exhausted the advances made by that government, 
while he found it difficult to realize money from 
private resources. Baron Krudner's reply, on the 6th 
of February following, is brief, and may, therefore, be 
as well inserted. ''It is with lively sensibility that I 
have received the mark of remembrance with which 
your excellency was pleased to honor me, under date 
of the 29th December; and the hope it holds forth, that 
I may probably see you in the course of the spring, 

adds to my satisfaction. I have spoken to CountB 

touching your business. He told me that everything 
was at your own disposition; that you had only to 
send a brief receipt, or an order to receive the money, 
to any person here, and payment would be made; but 
that it was imposible it should be in other money than 



Correspondence — Will. 245 

in that of the country. You have witnessed, Sir, the 
efforts I have made in this business, and that everything 
would have been arranged agreeably to your own de- 
sire, if success had oorresponded to the warmth of my 
intentions. They intrench themselves behind the 
impossibility of making an exception to, and breach of, 
a rule generally established. Accept my sincere com- 
pliments on the flattering mark of esteem and distinc- 
tion the United States of America have bestowed 
upon you. They have anticipated history. It is yet 
doubtful whether we shall have peace this year; in all 
events I flatter myself, as a good Russian, that your 
arm is always reserved for us." 

Jones went to England, as has been mentioned, to 
make his arrangements with Dr. Bancroft, and returned 
to Paris the same spring. He had been expected in 
that city early in the winter, as appears by a letter to 
him from Mr. Short, United States consul at the court 
of France, to whom he had written in relation to the 
medal, and, as it would seem, to the feasibility of hav- 
ing a series struck, commemorating his victories. It 
also appears by this letter, that M. Grand, Jones' 
banker in Paris, had no money belonging to him in his 
hands at this time; which corroborates the belief that 
Jones visited England from necessity. 

The first letter from Paris, among his papers, is to 
M. Genet, who remained at the Russian court, after 
Count Segur had left it. It is dated June 1st. As I 
arrived here, he says, only a few days ago, from 
Holland and England, I have not yet had the pleasure 
of seeing your sister. I hope to have the honor very so- ):i 



246 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

and will deliver to her my bust, as a mark of my per- 
sonal regard towards your father and yourself. M. de 
Simolin does me the honor to forward this letter to you. 
I have shown him proof that, if I have not sought to 
avenge myself of the unjust and cruel treatment I met 
with in Russia, my forbearance has been only the 
result of my delicate attachment towards the empress. 
You will oblige me by inquiring at the cabinet, and 
demanding the appointments due to me for the current 
year, which will end the 1st of July, agreeably to the 
promise of the empress, communicated to me by the 
Counts de Bruce and Besborodko. I wish to have 
that money immediately transmitted to me. 

On the 24th of July, in this year 1790, Jones thought 
proper to address a letter to Potemkin. The admirers 
of his courage and independence of character, will 
regret that he should have done so, unless business or 
etiquette required it. But it must be recollected, that 
this was the only useful avenue through which he 
could approach the throne of the Czarina; that he 
was wearied with his inert and unpleasant position, 
and that his habit of persevering, by letter writing, to 
enforce the accomplishment of his objects, from those 
in power, by dint of importunity, was constitutional 
and inveterate. 

Paris, 24th July, 1790. 

My Lord : — I do not think it becomes me to let pass 
the occasion of the return of your aid-de-camp, to con- 
gratulate you on the brilliant success of your operations 
since I had the honor to serve under your orders, and 
to express to you, in all the sincerity of my heart, the 



Correspondence — Will. 247 

regret I feel in not being fortunate enough to con- 
tribute thereto. After the campaign of the Liman, when 
I had leave, according to the special desire of her im- 
rial majesty, to return to the department of the north- 
ern seas, your highness did me the favor to grant me a 
letter of recommendation to the empress, and to speak 
to me these words: '^Rely upon my attachment. I 
am disposed to grant you the most solid proofs of my 
friendship for the present and for the future." Do 
you recollect them? This disclosure was too flattering 
for me to forget it, and I hope you will permit me to 
remind you of it. Circumstances and the high rank 
of my enemies have deprived me of the benefits which 
I had dared to hope from the esteem which you had 
expressed for me, and which I had endeavored to 
merit by my services. You know the disagreeable 
situation in which I was placed; but if, as I dared to 
believe, I have preserved your good opinion, I may 
still hope to see it followed by advantages, which it 
will be my glory to owe to you. M. de Simolin can 
testify to you, that my attachment to Russia, and to 
the great princess who is its sovereign, has always been 
constant and durable; I attended to my duties, and 
not to my fortune. I have been wrong, and I avow 
it with a frankness which carries with it its own 
excuse: 1st, That I did not request of you a carte- 
blanche, and the absolute command of all the forces 
of the Liman. 2d, To have written to your high- 
ness under feelings highly excited, on the 25th 
October, (N. S.) 1788. These are my faults. If my 
enemies have wished to impute others to me, I swear 



248 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

before God that they are a calumny. It only rests 
with me, my lord, to unmask the villiany of my ene- 
mies, by publishing my journal of the operations of 
the campaign of the Liman, with the proofs, clear as 
the day, and which I have in my hands. It only rests 
with me to prove that I directed, under your orders, 
all the useful operations against captain Pacha; 
that it was I who beat him on the 7th of June ; that it 
was I and the brave men I commanded who conquered 
him on the 17th June, and who chased into the sands 
two of his largest galleys, before our flotilla was ready 
to fire a single shot, and during the time a very con- 
siderable part of the force of the enemy remained at 
anchor immediately in rear of my squadron; that it 
was I who gave to General Suvorroff (he had the noble- 
ness to declare it at court before me, and to the most 
respectable witnesses) the first project to establish the 
battery and breastworks on the isthmus of Kinbourn, 
and which were of such great utility on the night of the 
17th — 18th of June; that it was I, in person, who towed, 
with my sloops and other vessels, the batteries which 
were nearest to the place, the 1st July, and who took 
the Turkish galleys by boarding, very much in advance 
of our line, whilst some gentlemen, who have been too 
highly rewarded in consequence of it, were content to 
remain in the rear of the struggles of our line, if I may 
be allowed to use the expression, sheltered from danger. 
You have seen, yourself, my lord, that I never valued 
my person on any occasion where I had the good for- 
tune to act under your eye. The whole of Europe 
acknowledges my veracity, and grants me some mili- 



Correspondence — Will. 249 

tary talents, which it would give me pleasure to employ 
in the service of Russia, under your orders. 

The time will arrive, my lord, when you will know the 
the exact truth of what I have told you. Time is a 
sovereign master. It will teach you to appreciate the 
man, who, loaded with your benefits, departed from 
the court of Russia with a memorial prepared by other 
hands and the enemies of your glory, and of which 
memorial he made no use, because your brilliant suc- 
cess at the taking of Oczakow, which he learned on 
his arrival in White Russia, gave the lie to all the hor- 
rors which had been brought forward to enrage the 
empress against you. You know it was the echo of 
another intriguer at the court of Vienna. In fine, time 
will teach you, my lord, that I am neither a mounte- 
bank nor a swindler, but a man true and loyal. I rely 
upon the attachment and friendship which you prom- 
ised me. I rely on it, because I feel myself worthy 
of it. I reclaim your promise, because you are just, and 
I know you are a lover of truth. I commanded, and 
was the only responsible person in the campaign of the 
Liman, the others being only of inferior rank, or simple 
volunteers; and I am, however, the only one who has 
not been promoted or rewarded. I am extremely 
thankful for the order of St. Anne which you procured 
for me, according to your letter of thanks, for my conduct 
in the affair of the 7th of June, which was not decisive. 
The 17th of June I gained over captain Pacha a com- 
plete victory which saved Cherson and Kinbourn, the 
terror of which caused the enemy to lose nine vessels 
of war in their precipitate flight on the following night, 



250 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

under the cannon of the battery and breastwork which 
I had caused to be erected in the isthmus of Kinbourn. 
On this occasion I had the honor again to receive a 
letter of thanks; but my enemies and rivals have found 
means to abuse your confidence, since they have been 
exclusively rewarded. They merited rather to have 
been punished for having burnt nine armed prizes, with 
their crews, which were absolutely in our power, hav- 
ing previously ran aground under our guns. 

I have been informed that, according to the institu- 
tion of the order of St. George, I have the right to 
claim its decorations in the second class for the victory 
of the 17th of June, but I rely upon your justice and 
generosity. I regret that a secret project, which I ad- 
dressed to the Count de Besborodko the 6th of June of 
the last year, has not been adopted. I communicated 
this project to the Baron de Beichler, who has promised 
me to speak to you of it. I was detained in St. Peters- 
burg until the end of August, in order to hinder me, 
as I have heard, from proceeding into the service of 
Sweden. My poor enemies, how I pity them! But for 
this circumstance my intention was to have presented 
myself at your head-quarters, in the hope to be of 
some utility; and the Baron de Beichler, in departing 
from St. Petersburg in order to join you, promised 
me to assure you of my devotion for the service of 
your department, and that I should hold myself ready 
to return to you the instant I was called. My conduct 
has not since changed, although I hold in my hand 
a parole for two years, and I regard eighteen months 
of this parole, in a time of v/ar, more as a punishment 



I 



Correspondence — Will. 251 

than as a favor. I hope that your highness will suc- 
ceed in concluding peace this year with the Turks ; but, 
in a contrary case, if it should please you to recall me 
to take command of the fleet in the ensuing campaign, 
I would ask permission to bring with me the French 
officer concerning whom I spoke to you, with one or 
two others, who are good tacticians, and who have 
some knowledge of war. On my return here I received 
a gold medal, granted me by the unanimous voice of 
Congress, at the moment I received a parole from this 
honorable body. The United States have decreed 
me this honor, in order to perpetuate the remembrance 
of the services which I rendered to America eight years 
previous, and have ordered a copy to be presented to 
all the sovereigns and all tlie academies of Europe, 
with the exception of Great Britain. There is reason 
to believe that your highness will be numbered among 
the sovereigns of Europe, in consequence of- the treaty 
of peace which you are about to conclude with the 
Turks ; but in any case, if a copy of my medal will be 
acceptable to you as a mark of my attachment for 
your person, it will do me an honor to offer it to you. 

Indisposition gaining upon Jones' health daily to 
which he refers in several of his letters. This probably 
interrupted his active correspondence during this year 
and the record of his engagements, occupations, and 
thoughts, are few. The following, written on hearing 
of a family dissension, is the only other letter of interest 
found among his papers written in 1790: 

Paris, December 27, 1790. 

I duly received, my dear Mrs. Taylor, your letter of 



252 Jolm Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

the 16th August, but ever since that time I have been 
unable to answer it, not having been capable to go out 
of my chamber, and having been for the most part 
obliged to keep my bed. I have now no doubt but 
that I am in a fair way of a perfect recovery, though 
it will require time and patience. 

I shall not conceal from you that your family dis- 
cord aggravates infinitely all my pains. My grief is 
inexpressible, that two sisters, whose happiness is 
so interesting to me, do not live together in that mutual 
tenderness and affection which would do so much honor 
to themselves and to the memory of their worthy rela- 
tions. Permit me to recommend to your serious study 
and application Pope's Universal Prayer. You will 
find more morality in that little piece, than in many 
volumes that have been written by great divines — 

^ Teach me to feel another's woe, 

To hide the fault I see; 
That mercy I to others show, 

Such mercy show to me! ' 

This is not the language of a weak superstitious 
mind, but the spontaneous offspring of true religion, 
springing from a heart sincerely inspired by charity, and 
deeply impressed with a sense of the calamities and 
frailties of human nature. If the sphere in which 
Providence has placed us as members of society re- 
quires the exercise of brotherly kindness and charity 
towards our neighbor in general, how much more is 
this our duty with respect to individuals with whom 



Correspondence — Will. 258 

we are connected by the near and tender ties of nature, 
as well as moral obligation. Every lesser virtue may 
pass away, but charity comes from Heaven, and is im- 
mortal. Though I wish to be the instrument of making 
family peace, which I flatter myself would tend to pro- 
mote the happiness of you all, yet I by no means de- 
sire you to do violence to your own feelings, by taking 
any step that is contrary to your own judgment and 
inclination. Your reconciliation must come free from 
your heart, otherwise it will not last, and therefore it 
will be better not to attempt it. Should a reconcilia- 
tion take place, I recommend it of all things, that you 
never mention past grievances, nor show by word, look 
or action, that you have not forgot them. 

The following correspondence with two ladies whom 
he numbered among his friends, took place at this time, 
and diversifies the character of the remaining materi- 
als for his biography. 

To Mesdames Le Grande and Rinsby, a Trevoux, pres 
de Lion. 

Paris, February 25, 1791. 

Dear and amiable ladies — Madame Clement has 
read me part of a letter fromi you, in which you con- 
clude that I prefer love to friendship, and Paris to 
Trevoux. As to the first part you may be right, for 
love frequently communicates divine qualities, and in 
that light may be considered as the cordial that Provi- 
dence has bestowed on mortals, to help them to digest 
the nauseous draught of life. Friendship, they say, 



254 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

has more solid qualities than love. This is a question 
I shall not attempt to resolve; but sad experience 
generally shows, that where we expect to find a friend, 
we have only been treacherously deluded by false ap- 
pearances, and that the goddess herself very seldom 
confers her charms on any of the human race. As 
to the second, I am too much a philosopher to prefer 
noise to tranquillity; if this does not determine the 
preference between Paris and Trevoux, I will add, 
that I have had very bad health almost ever since 
your departure, and that other circumstances have 
conspired to detain me here, which have nothing to 
do with either love or friendship. My health is now 
recovering, and as what is retarded is not always lost, 
I hope soon to have the happiness of paying you my 
personal homage, and of renewing the assurance of 
that undiminished attachment which women of such 
distinguished worth and talents naturally inspire. I 
am, etc. 

The answer of the first lady mentioned in the direc- 
tion of this letter, follows. 

Trevoux, 6th March, 1791. 

Sir — I had given up the hope of receiving any intel- 
ligence of your excellency, and I acknowledge it cost 
me much before I could believe that the promise of a 
great man was no more to be relied on than that of 
the herd of mankind. The letter with which you have 
honored me convinces me that my heart knew you bet- 
ter than my head; for though my reason whispered 
that you had quite forgotten us, I was unwilling to 
believe it. 



Correspondence — Will. 255 

Madame Wolfe, as well as myself, is much concerned 
for the bad state of your health. I am sorry that, 
like myself, your excellency is taught the value of 
health by sickness. Com.e to us. Sir; if you do not 
find here the pleasures you enjoy in Paris, you will 
find a good air, frugal meals, freedom, and hearts that 
can appreciate you. 

I am concerned to perceive that your excellency 
is an unbeliever in friendship. Alas, if you want 
friends, who shall pretend to possess them! I hope 
you will recover from this error, and be convinced that 
friendship is something more than a chimera of Plato. 

Do me the favor to acquaint me with the time we 
may expect the honor of seeing you. I must be absent 
for some days, and I v/ould not for any thing in the 
world that I should not be here on your arrival. If 
I knew the time, I would send my little carriage to 
meet the stage-coach, as I suppose you will take that 
conveyance. 

Madame Wolfe expects the moment of your arrival 
with as much eagerness as myself (she says); but 
as I best know my own feelings, I am certain I go be- 
yond her. Of this I am certain, that we shall both 
count the days till we have the happiness of seeing you. 
Come quickly then, I pray you. 

To several letters written by him at the close of 
February, in which he seems to have had a respite 
from the immediate effects of his malady, it is merely 
necessary to allude. The United States having named 



256 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

a vice-consul for the port of Marseilles, and the appoint- 
ment of other functionaries for commercial purposes 
in different European ports being expected, he of- 
fered to his banker in Paris (M. Grand), his good offices 
with the United States' secretary of legation, Mr- 
Short, to procure him such a situation, which he had 
seemed desirous of obtaining; and to the latter gen- 
tleman he wrote, recommending M. Neissen, a mer- 
chant of Amsterdam, and friend of his, to be nomi- 
nated as consul for that port. He also recommended 
the appointment of a commercial agent at Elsineur. 
He says in the conclusion of this letter: I called the 
other day on M. Dupres, who informed me that Mr. 
Jefferson had taken from him the dies of my medal, 
after three examples only had been struck. Pray are 
the dies in your possession, or are they carried to 
America? Accept my compliments on your success, 
and on the credit of your country. But I am still of 
opinion that a loan may be made, at less than 5 per 
cent. 

Jones enclosed his vindicatory papers, in relation 
to the Russian campaign, to the Hon. William Carmi- 
chael, who was still in a diplomatic capacity at Madrid 
He says: You will judge how unfortunate I was, in 
having to do with the greatest knight of industry 
under the sun: an enemy the more dangerous, as his 
ignorance, which has since appeared in such glaring 
colors to all Europe, had put me off my guard. Soon 
after I left Russia, I sent to the empress my journal 
of the important campaign I commanded on the 
Liman, and before Oczakow; but it contained such 



Correspondence — Will. 257 

damning proofs against my enemies, that it has un- 
doubtedly been intercepted. As a sure occasion offers, 
I shall write again next month; and my letter will 
contain my resignation, in case I receive no immediate 
satisfaction. In a postscript he asks: Pray can you 
inform me whether anything efficacious is in agitation, 
for the relief of our unhappy countrymen at Algiers? 
Nothing provokes me so much as the shameful neglect 
they have so long experienced. 

On the 20th of March following, he addressed Mr. 
Jefferson at great length, and as the letter has been 
several times published, and is not essentially necessary 
to the exposition of his feelings and circumstances, 
extracts from it will suffice. He informed the secre- 
tary of state, that he had received no answers to his 
letters addressed to the high public officers in America, 
more than a year previous, congratulated him on the 
acceptance of the high station which he filled and 
took occasion to make a remark, suggested by the 
contrast between the lavish amount of European 
appointments, which he immediately had under his 
eye, and those dictated by the spirit of republican 
economy which have, even up to this time, been found 
sufficient to make a post in the American cabinet an ob- 
ject of patriotic ambition. He said: It gives me pain 
that so inadequate a provision has been made, for 
doing the honors incumbent on the first minister of 
a nation of such resources as America, and I wish that 
matter may be soon changed to your satisfaction. 
Mr. Jefferson argued in favor of no increase of salary. 



258 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Jones mentions the documents in his vindication, 
which he transmitted with his despatch, and inti- 
mated his presentiment that he should be constrained 
to withdraw from the Russian service, and publish his 
journal of the campaign. Referring to the scandal 
which was made available to drive him from St. Peters- 
burg, he says: Chevalier Littlepage, now here on 
his way from Spain to the north, has promised me a 
letter to you on my subject, which I presume will show 
the meanness and absurdity of the intrigues that were 
practiced for my persecution at St. Petersburg. I 
did not myself comprehend all the blackness of that 
business before he came here, and related to me the 
information he received from a gentleman of high rank 
in the diplomatic department, with whom he travelled 
in company from Madrid to Paris. That gentleman 
had long resided as a public character at St. Peters- 
burg, and was there all the time of the pitiful plot 
against me, which was conducted by a little-great man 
behind the curtain. Th^ unequaled reception with 
which I had, at first, been honored by the empress, 
had been extremely mortifying and painful to the 
English at St. Petersburg, and the courtier just 
mentioned (finding that politics had taken a turn far 
more alarming than he had expected at the beginning 
of the war), wishing to sooth the court of London into 
a pacific humor, found no firststep so expedient as 
that of sacrificing me! But instead of producing the 
effect he wished, this base conduct, on which he pre- 
tended to ground a conciliation, rather widened the 
political breach, and made him to be despised by the 



Correspondence — Will. 259 

English minister, by the English cabinet, and by 
the gentleman who related the secret to the Chevalier 
Littlepage. The reader must exercise his own sagac- 
ity in conjecturing who this little-great man and court- 
ier was. It is but just to remark, however, that this 
statement seems to exculpate any English agent from 
a direct action in the propagation of the infamous slan- 
der. Jones next informed Mr. Jefferson of the circum- 
stances under which the patent was given, granting 
him during life a pension of fifteen hundred crowns 
from the treasury of Denmark. This patent was 
dated on the fourth day of December, 1788, the same 
day on which Count Bernstorf wrote the letter to 
Jones, which effectually terminated the progress of his 
negotiations at that time. In Jones^ letter to Mr. 
Jefferson immediately after, he makes no mention of 
the particular circumstances and manner in which the 
propitiatory oblation was made, though he refers to his 
interview with the prince. In the letter he says: 

The day before I left the court of Copenhagen, the 
prince royal had desired to speak with me in his apart- 
ment. His royal highness was extremely polite, and 
after saying many civil things, remarked, he hoped I 
was satisfied with the attentions that had been shown 
to me since my arrival, and that the king would wish 
to give me some mark of his esteem. 'I have never 
had the happiness to render any service to his majesty.' 
'That is nothing; a man like you ought to be excepted 
from ordinary rules. You could not have shown your- 
self more delicate as regards our flag, and every person 
here loves you.' 



260 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

I took leave without farther explanation. I have 
felt myself in an embarrassing situation on account of 
the king's patent, and I have as yet made no use of it, 
though three years have nearly elapsed since I received 
it. I wished to consult you; but when I understood 
that you would not return to Europe, I consulted Mr. 
Short and Mr, G. Morris, who both gave me their 
opinion, that I may with propriety accept the advan- 
tage offered. I have in consequence determined to 
draw for the sum due, and I think you will not dis- 
approve of this step, as it can by no means weaken the 
claim of the United States, but rather the contrary. 

He informed Mr. Jefferson also, that he had not yet 
been presented at court, but would be shortly by the 
Marquis de la Fayette; he spoke of transmitting one 
of his busts for the state of North Carolina, which had 
been requested by a member of Congress, and which 
was to be decorated with the order of St. Anne, in the 
American uniform, if he should be authorized by the 
United States to wear that order, which authorization 
he solicited Mr. Jefferson to obtain for him. Referring 
to the condition of the American prisoners at Algiers, 
with whose situation, he said, I continue to be deeply 
affected; the more so, as I learn from the pirate now 
here, who took the greatest part of them, that if they 
are not very soon redeemed, they will be treated with 
no more lenity than is shown to other slaves. He told 
this to Mr. Littlepage, who repeated it to me. 

The letter from Mr. Littlepage, which accompanied 
that cited from, and which is referred to in it, was as 
follows : 



Correspondence — "Will. 261 

You will share my regret in reflecting, that we 
were the principal means of engaging Admiral Sir John 
Paul Jones to accept the propositions made to him in 
1788 by the Russian court. Never were more brilliant 
prospects held forth to an individual, and never indivi- 
dual better calculated to attain them. The campaign 
upon the Liman of 1788, added lustre to the arms of 
Russia, and ought to have estaMished for ever the repu- 
tation and fortune of the gallLnt officer to whose con- 
duct those successes were owing; but unfortunately, 
in Russia, more perhaps than elsewhere, everything is 
governed by intrigue. Some political motives, I have 
reason to think, concurred in depriving Admiral Paul 
Jones of the fruits of his services ; he was thought to be 
particularly obnoxious to the English nation, and the 
idea of paying a servile compliment to a power whose 
enmity occasions all the present embarrassments of 
Russia, induced some leading persons to ruin him in the 
opinion of the empress by an accusation too ridiculous 
to be mentioned. 

It would be needless to enter into details ; you nave 
too much confidence in Admiral Paul Jones to doubt 
the veracity of what he will personally communicate 
to you, and to which I refer you. 

In June of this year, as appears by the draft of a 
letter which is preserved, though without particular 
date or direction, Paul Jones in addition to his ill 
state of body, and to the irritating state of inaction 
into which he was thrown, was really vexed by the 
delay he experienced in receiving the funds belongir;g 



262 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to his private exchequer, and which he had a right to 
look for. 

The last letter preserved, in which he indicates a 
wish to cling to his Russian engagements, is one to the 
Baron de Grimm, who was then at Bourbon le Bair, 
and which is dated July 9th. It was as follows : 

Sir — M. Houdon has sent to your house the bust 
which you have done me the honor to accept. Made- 
moiselle Marchais has informed me of all the obliging 
things you have said regarding my affairs. She has 
just told me, that the answer of the empress awaits 
you at Frankfort. As it is my duty to interest myself 
in objects that may be useful to Russia, I must inform 
you that I have met with a man here, whom I have 
known for fifteen years, who has invented a new con- 
struction of ships of war, which has small resemblance, 
either externally or internally, to our present war-ships, 
and which will, he says, possess the following advan- 
tages over them: 

I. The crew will be better sheltered during an 
engagement. 

II. The accommodations of the crew will be more 
spacious; every individual may have a bed or a ham- 
mock, and there may be as much air as is wished for, 
night and day, in the places for sleeping. 

III. There will be less smoke during an engage- 
ment. 

IV. A ship of the new construction, of 54 guns, if 
well armed and commanded, may face one of the old 
make of 80 or 90, and need not run away from one of 
an hundred. 



Correspondence — Will. 263 

V. That besides requiring less artillery, the new 
vessels would cost less in their construction; and dif- 
ferent sorts of wood, both dear and rare, required for 
the old vessels, might be dispensed with. 

VI. A new ship, displaying to the eye all the ma- 
jesty of her appointments, would have a more imposing 
appearance of power than another; and would never 
be forced into an engagement, without stupid impru- 
dence on the part of her commander. 

VII. Vessels of the new construction, would add 
to many other advantages, that of greater facility in 
navigation, by sailing a quarter, or 11 degrees and 15 
minutes, nearer the wind than the old ones, and swerv- 
ing less from the course. 

It is a long time since, in conjunction with my 
friend Dr. Franklin, I tried to devise the construction 
of a ship which could be navigated without ballast, be 
ready for action at any time, draw less water, and at 
the same time drive little or not at all to leeward. We 
always encountered great obstacles. Since the death 
of that great philosopher, having too much time on 
my hands, I think I have surmounted the difficulties 
which baffled our researches. The ship-builder of 
whom I have spoken, has explained nothing to me in 
detail, and is altogether ignorant of my ideas on the 
subject. Being old, he wishes to preserve his inven- 
tion, and to derive an annuity from it. Nothing can 
be more just, if on experiment his discovery holds; and 
as it is a thing which appears to me to deserve the at- 
tention of the empress, I beg of you to acquaint her 
majesty of it as soon as possible. This person wishc 1 



264 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

to go to England to offer his discovery, where I think 
it would have been received; but, as I have some in- 
fluence with him, I have persuaded him to remain here, 
and wait your reply. If he receive any encourage- 
ment, he will communicate his ideas more fully to me. 
But in every case I would dedicate to the empress, 
without any stipulation, all that my feeble genius has 
accomplished in naval architecture. I believe I have 
found out the secret of mounting on a ship of war, with 
the qualifications I have mentioned above, five bat- 
teries of whatever calibre is desired. Will not this, 
presuming it is correct, be of great advantage to the in- 
fant marine of the Black Sea, and consequently to the 
prosperity of the Russian empire? 

There is among the loose papers preserved, a letter 
dated the 16th September, 1791, from a chevalier whose 
patronymic baffles curiosity, as his hand-writing was 
fine beyond conception. He informs the rear admiral, 
that in a conversation he had had with Admiral Digby 
on the day previous, that officer had expressed an 
anxious desire to become acquainted with him, and 
presses Jones to allow him to introduce him, at as early 
a day as possible, to the admiral's amiable family. 
This is mentioned as not unimportant in proving, that 
brave and intelligent Englishmen were not imbued 
with the vulgar prejudices which seem to have pre- 
vailed in their country in relation to this adopted son 
of America. Indeed, there are several others which 
refute such a supposition, that have not been men- 
tioned ; among which are two from the Earl of Wemys, 



Correspondence — Will. 265 

written in 1785, dated at his residence, the "Chateau 
de Cotandar," near Neufchatel, which refer to com- 
munications the earl had had with the Prince of Wirt- 
emburgh, on subjects in which Jones was interested. 
He addresses him as ''my dear commodore," and Jones 
in his replies calls him "my dear lord Wemys." Thes( 
letters, with several others, have been omitted, because 
they needed explanations which cannot be furnished. 

In November, Jones wrote Littlepage, who was then 
at Warsaw, congratulating himself on the (abortive) 
revolution in Poland, and transmitting a pamphlet 
published by a friend of his, whose schemes he had 
mentioned to Baron Grimm, which Jones wished to 
present to his Polish majesty. He mentions that Ban- 
croft had paid him half the amount for which he was 
a creditor, and adds: Before the month of May, I 
expect also to receive a considerable amount from 
other sources in Europe; and, in America I have sun- 
dry tracts of land, and funds both in the bank, and in 
the public stocks; so that, if I return to that country, 
I shall have the means of living independent, in a hand- 
some style. I mention the above circumstances on 
account of the kind interest you take in all my con- 
cerns. 

The last letter written this year, which will be in- 
serted, was addressed to the Marquis de la Fayette, 
and dated December 7th, 1791. It shows that in the 
approach of the impending storm, the great revolution 
in France, his feelings toward the king were still benevo- 
lent. 



266 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

Dear General — My ill health for some time past, 
has prevented me from the pleasure of paying you my 
personal respects, but I hope shortly to indulge myself 
with that satisfaction. 

I hope you approve the quality of the fur-linings I 
brought from Russia for the king and yourself. I flat- 
ter myself that his majesty will accept from your hand 
that little mark of the sincere attachment I feel for his 
person, and be assured, that I shall be always ready to 
draw the sword with which he honored me for the 
service of the virtuous and illustrious ^protector of 

THE RIGHTS OF HUMAN NATURE. 

When my health shall be re-established, M. Simolin 
will do me the honor to present me to his majesty as a 
Russian admiral. Afterwards it will be my duty, as 
an American officer, to wait on his majesty with the 
letter which I am directed to present to him from the 
United States. 

It is to be presumed that sickness prevented Jones 
from taking any active part in the discussions and 
movements which were fast hurrying France into her 
long agony. From this time the symptoms of Jones 
grew alarming. He was seized with jaundice, which 
developed into accute dropsy and he died on the 18th 
of July as has been previously noticed. The following 
letters of M. Beaupoil and Colonel Blackden to the 
sisters of Paul Jones, furnish the best account of his 
last moments and the manner of his death : 



Correspondence — Will. 267 

Letter of M. Beaupoil to either Mrs. Taylor or Mrs. 
Loudon, sisters of Paul Jones, Esq. Admiral in the 
Russian service. 

Madam — I am sorry to acquaint you that your 
brother, Admiral Paul Jones, my friend, paid yesterday 
the debt we all owe to nature. He has made a will, 
which is deposited in the hands of Mr. Badineir, notary, 
St. Servin street, Paris. The will was drawn in Eng- 
lish, by Mr. Gouverneur Morris, minister of the United 
States, and translated faithfully by the French notary 
aforesaid. The admiral leaves his property, real and 
personal, to his two sisters and their children. They 
are named in the will as being married, one to William 

Taylor, and the other to Loudon, of Dumfries. 

The executor is Mr. Robert Morris of Philadelphia. If 
I could be of any service to you in this business, out of 
the friendship I bore your brother, I would do it with 
pleasure. I am a Frenchman and an officer. I am 
sincerely yours, 

"Beaupoil. 

" Paris, July 19, 1792, No. 7, Hotel Anglais, 
Passage des Petits Peres." 

The English will is signed by Colonels Swan, Black- 
den, and myself. The schedule of his property lying 
in Denmark, Russia, France, America, and elsewhere, 
is signed by Mr. Morris, and deposited by me in his 
bureau, with the original will. Every thing is sealed 
up at his lodgings, Tournon street, No. 42, Paris. 

You may depend also on the good services of 
Colonel Blackden, who was an intimate friend of the 



268 Jolin Paul Jones of Naval Fame. 

admiral's. That gentleman is setting out for London, 
where you may hear of him at No. 18 Great Tichfield 
Street, London. 

Colonel Blackden to Mrs. Taylor, of Dumfries, eldest 
sister of Admiral Paul Jones. 

" Great Tichfield Street, London, August 9th. 

Madam — I had the honor of receiving your letter 
of the 3d instant, and shall answer you most readily. 
Your brother. Admiral Jones, was not in good health 
for about a year, but had not been so unwell as to keep 
house. For two months past he began to lose his appe- 
tite, to grow yellow, and show signs of the jaundice; for 
this he took medicine, and seeemed to grow better; but 
about ten days before his death his legs began to swell, 
which increased upwards, so that two days before his 
exit he could not button his waistcoat, and had great 
difficulty of breathing. 

I visited him every day, and, beginning to be ap- 
prehensive of his danger, desired him to settle his af- 
fairs ; but this he put off till the afternoon of his death, 
when he was prevailed on to send for a notaire, and 
made his will. Mr. Beaupoil and myself witnessed it at 
about 8 o'clock in the evening, and left him sitting in a 
chair. A few minutes after we retired, he walked into 
his chamber, and laid himself upon his face, on the 
bed-side, with his feet on the floor; after the queen's 
physician arrived, they went into the room, and found 
him in that position, and upon taking him up, they 
found he had expired. 

His disorder had terminated in dropsy of the breast. 
His body was put into a leaden coffin on the 20th, that 



Correspondence — Will. 269 

in case the United States, whom he had so essentially 
served, and with so much honor to himself, should 
claim his remains, they might be more easily removed. 
This is all. Madam, that I can say concerning his ill- 
ness and death. 

I most sincerely condole with you. Madam, upon 
the loss of my dear and respectable friend, for whom I 
entertained the greatest affection, and as a proof of it, 
you may command the utmost exertion of my feeble 
abilities, which shall be rendered with cheerfulness. I 
have the honor to be, Madam, your most obedient and 
humble servant, 

S. Blackden. 

It will be seen from these letters, that though suffer- 
ing severely from bodily affliction, and no doubt equally 
from mental restlessness and disquietude, Jones did 
not die without the sympathy and succor of friends, 
nor in obscurity and actual want, as has been surmised, 
and indeed stated, in some notices of his life. The 
credentials of his excellency Gouverneur Morris, as 
minister plenipotentiary to the court of France, had 
been forwarded to him from America in the latter end 
of January preceding, at which time, it is to be inferred 
from a letter of Mr. Jefferson to him, he was not in 
Paris. Jones, therefore, could not have had a long ac- 
quaintance with him, but it is known,that though he was 
not present at the rear admiral's funeral, the ambas- 
sador showed him every attention, and it appears from 
his attest to a schedule, that he was with him on the 
day before his death. 



270 John Paul Jones of Naval Fame, 

He was buried at Paris on the 20th July, and the 
following funeral discourse was pronounced over his 
grave by Mr. Marron, a protestant clergyman of Paris: 

[translation.] 

Discourse pronounced by Mr. Marron, officiating 
Protestant Clergyman, at the funeral of Admiral Paul 
JoneSy July 20, 1792, in Paris. 

Legislators! citizens! soldiers! friends! brethren! 
and Frenchmen! we have just returned to the earth 
the remains of an illustrious stranger, one of the first 
champions of the liberty of America of that liberty 
which so gloriously ushered in our own. The Semira- 
mis of the north had drawn him under her standard, 
but Paul Jones could not long breathe the pestilential 
air of despotism; he preferred the sweets of a private 
life in France, now free to the eclat of titles and of 
honors, which, from a usurped throne, were lavished 
upon him by Catharine. The fame of the brave out- 
lives him; his portion is immortality. What more 
flattering homage could we pay to the names of Paul 
Jones, than to swear on his tomb to live or to die free? 
It is the vow, it is the watch-word of every Frenchman. 

Let never tyrants, nor their satellites pollute this 
sacred earth! May the ashes of the great man, too 
soon lost to humanity, and eager to be free, enjoy here 
an undisturbed repose! Let his example teach pos- 
terity the efforts which noble souls are capable of 
making, when stimulated by hatred to oppression. 
Friends and brethren, a noble emulation brightens in 
your looks; your time is precious; the country is in 



Correspondence — Will. 271 

danger! Who amongst us would not shed the last 
drop of their blood to save it? Associate yourselves 
to the glory of Paul Jones, in imitating him in his con- 
tempt of dangers, in his devotedness to his country in, 
his noble heroism, which, after having astonished the 
present age, will continue to be the imperishable object 
of the veneration of future generations! 



I Lives ^f Famous Men | 

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